


Concrete Trail

by Spinedog



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/F, I will add warnings as I go, contains some zombie-related gore, zombees
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:27:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 51,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24952294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spinedog/pseuds/Spinedog
Summary: Frustration burned as Cinder watched the girl feel for Belladonna's pulse. Her eyes were wide, the skin around the corners crinkled, dark bags clearly visible underneath. A moment later, they closed as she gave a short sigh of relief.Cinder inhaled, breathing harsh through bared teeth. “Getting tired of fighting yet, Xiao Long?”-A lucky warrior, the lone survivor of a powerful family, and a hardened ex-bandit race to escape the ruins of a fallen city. Pursued by humans desperate for power, faunus desperate for revenge, and mindless Grimm, an unlikely bond begins to form between an exhausted protector and the shadow that is always one step behind her.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 192
Kudos: 247





	1. The Hunt for the Red Sedan

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my dears it's TIME  
> Welcome to Zombees - something I've been working on for quite a long time and am VERY excited to start posting! 
> 
> The first chapter is something of a set-up for the plot and action - next chapters will be from Blake and/or Yang's POV, and will continue that way. Setting is somewhat realistic, with bends and twists in science as I deem fit, because why not. Posting schedule is going to be a bit all over the place, because I'm only going to post a chapter when the one after it is done or at least drafted - helps me keep things consistent. All of the chapter titles may be movie/book title puns and I am really not sure why.
> 
> I think that's all the information you guys need, so without further ado: Enjoy!! <3
> 
> Edit: I've now gone through and grabbed some typos! Which is an excellent time to, uh, add - as with all my works, typo-hunting is encouraged and will be rewarded with my love. Feedback and constructive critique are always welcome as well!

There was an odd beauty to a world in shambles. The sun had sunk below the horizon, abandoning the city to bathe in a faint blue light. The skeletons of skyscrapers fell into peaceful shadow above her, like bones in a closed museum.

Cinder Fall, as she shifted gears, didn’t waste her time with noticing it.

Panicked voices crackled through the walkie-talkie on the dashboard, drawing her eye back from the windshield. _“They’re turning east on Railway! Over!”_ She recognized the woman’s voice – the one with a ponytail and freckles that changed colour if you watched long enough.

She glanced down at the map on her lap, then wrenched the steering wheel to the side. Cinder jostled as the weathered SUV mounted the curb and thundered across what had once been a park.

_“Adam, do you copy? We’re on foot still! There’s no Grimm, but we’ll lose them if they get off the road!”_

_“I’m right behind you, calm down. Over.”_ A male voice cut through, irritation clear through the static.

Cinder grabbed for her own walkie-talkie, swerving around a shattered park bench. “Keep them moving east. Over.” She kept the message deliberately vague, and kept her voice deliberately calm.

 _“Copy.”_ Taurus’ voice responded instead. Just as well; he was doing the herding anyways.

The SUV heavily thunked back onto the pavement. She’d found the rare street that wasn’t packed full of dead cars and debris, allowing her to pick up speed as the walkie-talkie fell silent. For a moment, Cinder found herself without any distractions.

The fingers of her left hand, safely concealed underneath the thick glove that reached above her elbow, trembled slightly against the wheel.

Her eye pulled down to the map, teeth grinding together. All she had to do was cut them off – even if the fleeing car hit her vehicle, hers far outweighed theirs. She just had to cut them off before they reached the subway station, which was…

Her finger traced down Railway. Her gut twisted – it was only one block after her street.

_If she gets away-_

_Shut up. She won’t._

Movement. Cinder’s head jerked up.

The Grimm were an unfortunate sight even from a distance. Up close, through the windshield of a speeding car, the experience turned outright horrifying.

Fur still clung to its shoulders and back, flesh dark with necrosis. Bony outgrowth had pierced through the dead skin, forming a cruel semblance of a skull on its head. Nothing about the creature that had once been a large dog looked alive. Yet, as it stood in the middle of the road, it rose onto its hind legs to face the headlights speeding towards it. A pair of red eyes locked on her, as though it could see her through the windshield, toothy maw hanging open.

Only three blocks behind it, she could see the long-dead train, marking the path that the subway tunnels followed below.

Her foot slammed the accelerator to the floor.

The Grimm’s jaw snapped as it leapt forwards – then abruptly cut off solid metal collided with the decaying body.

The vehicle bounced slightly; the rifle balanced across the passenger seat beside her rattled against the door. Cinder’s eye jumped to the rear-view mirror. She caught a glimpse of a crumpled pile of flesh, lit by taillights, before it was claimed by darkness.

Deep down, something winced at the sight. She liked dogs.

The walkie-talkie shrieked again. _“Passing Sixth Street!”_

The yell snapped her back into reality. She blinked and caught sight of headlights bouncing off the buildings around her. Then, as they came to a bridge, her quarry finally came into view.

The red sedan looked like it had already been through a warzone. Despite the bent hood, cracked windows, and bullet-sized dents riddling every surface of the car, the elderly car was only gaining speed as it wove through permanently stalled traffic. The pickup truck pursuing it was just as old, and too wide to easily follow the car’s winding path. It wasn’t hard to imagine the hotheaded faunus cursing with every bumper he clipped. Across the street, Cinder caught sight of a pair of slim figures racing along the top of the train, but they too were falling behind.

Then the entire group disappeared behind a cluster of shops. Cinder could see headlights begin to light the intersection ahead of her. It also lit up the entrance to the subway, now visible in the light. The stairway yawned open, more than wide enough for a car to pass through.

Claws that looked like decorative extensions of her glove dug gouges into the steering wheel.

_“Passing Fourth! Cinder, do you co-”_

Cinder’s foot crushed the accelerator to the floor. Mechanical roaring drowned out the girl’s voice.

Exactly as the SUV rocketed into the intersection, a red, bullet-riddled sedan passed in front of her.

For one heartbeat, Cinder locked eyes with the girl in the backseat.

Silver eyes, a sweet smile, and a single finger pointed defiantly upright.

Cinder wished she could return the gesture, as the hood of the SUV slammed into the sedan’s rear bumper.

The impact sent her crashing into the steering wheel. Her left arm slammed against the dashboard, and any pain Cinder might have felt anywhere else in her body was immediately overshadowed. The hyperactive nerves along her arm ignited, her vision flashed white, and for a moment Cinder couldn’t even think, let alone move.

But when she heard an engine rev, she looked up.

Through the cracked windshield, she could see that the sedan had been knocked sideways. But it was moving.

She couldn’t see Ruby in the backseat. But she could see Xiao Long, turning to look over her shoulder. She could see Schnee, hunkering down low in the seat. And she could see the red of the taillights turn white, reflecting off the tile and metal surrounding the stairwell.

An inhuman scream left her throat as the sedan screeched backwards and careened down the stairs.

Adrenaline overcame pain. The shaking, elongated fingers of her left hand found the door handle and forced it open. The steadier, but sweating right hand found her rifle, still loyally waiting in the passenger seat. She could hear yelling, but it was muted, like she was underwater.

She half jumped, half crawled out of the SUV, rifle clutched in one hand. Screeching metal cut through the air as she hobbled around her car and hurried across the road. When she reached the stairwell, she caught the shadows of a twisted, ruined metal guards, lit by fleeing headlights before it disappeared into the dark. The echoes of tires and metal scraping on concrete filtered up even as the light disappeared.

An engine rumbled behind her, but the loud male voice easily carried past it. “Idiots.”

Panic was starting to outweigh pain. Cinder bit down both, turning to the truck that had halted behind her. “I’m going down there. I need someone with stronger eyes to go with me.”

“Why?” The door slammed, and Taurus appeared from the far side of the truck. His horns glinted in the light from the headlights, a white mask shielding his eyes. “There’s no way out – those tunnels are crawling with Grimm, they’ll get eaten before they escape.” Behind him, two shadowy figures jumped down from the train and hurried towards them.

The calm façade cracked, and Cinder’s voice swelled. “And Ruby Rose is useless to me dead!”

Taurus stopped in mid-stride. The two faunus behind him, still panting for breath from their sprint across the train, nervously glanced at each other.

Cinder slowly inhaled. Xiao Long had been driving. She kneaded her voice back into a calm, cool tone. “One of those girls used to run with Branwen’s clan. She knows the subway. If there is an escape route that doesn’t involve being mauled by Grimm, she will know how to find it.”

“Or, they’re just desperate and hiding in the dark.”

“Possibly.” It was a much nicer reply than taking the butt of her rifle and using it to break his mask. She smiled at him, tone sweet and venomous. “Either way, if you want the last remaining Schnee to meet justice at your hands, someone has to go down there. I’ll go, but I’m going to need to follow someone with better eyes.”

Taurus face was unreadable as ever, goat-like eye slits staring back at her. But she wasn’t looking at him – his vision was no better than hers anyways. The ponytailed girl had already looked away. Instead, Cinder focused on the third member of the faunus trio.

Golden eyes glinted back at her. A pair of dark feline ears flicked atop dark, shoulder-length hair. Then Belladonna turned to Taurus, eyebrows slightly raised.

With a low grunt of discontent, he reached into his pocket and fished out three rounds, clearly meant for the handgun on her hip. Belladonna took them with a beat of hesitation - while it wasn’t that hard to find guns in the ruins of a city, usable ammunition was a rare find. Cinder herself only had two to spare for her rifle.

Another metallic squeal and crash echoed up the stairs, fraying Cinder’s patience. “Let’s go, then. You two wait up here and watch this entrance. They might try to evade us and come back up, cut them off if they do.”

The girl with the ponytail nodded, turning to rush back to the truck. Taurus gave a single nod.

But as she turned and walked away, Cinder didn’t miss the low, quiet hiss that must have been meant for Belladonna. “Don’t fuck this up.”

It must not have phased her, because barely a second later Belladonna walked past her and started down the stairway.

The light of the car’s headlights weren’t visible, but faint light reflected off the tiles around them. Belladonna and her hopped over a toppled toll gate, turned to go down the second flight of stairs, and found a clear path of destruction where the car had gone. A handrail had been ripped from the wall, shards of metal littered the stairs, and the tile below was cracked.

Cinder only got a moment to process the sight before the faint light flickered and disappeared completely, plunging them into darkness. Belladonna’s footsteps moved ahead of her, carving an auditory path for her to follow. Shadows pressed in on her, but Cinder’s only fear was misplacing her feet on the stairs. She was far more dangerous than anything that could be waiting in the darkness.

As they reached the bottom of the staircase, Cinder faintly heard the distinctive beeping of one of the car’s many systems failing. Then the soft, hushed voices of two women, arguing about something.

Belladonna paused in front of her. “Stay here.” She whispered, barely audible. “Let me make sure they’re not armed.”

Cinder nodded, being sure to keep her face neutral – she could barely even see Belladonna’s outline, but she knew the feline eyes could easily see her.

The girl’s footsteps started again, moving towards the subway platform that Cinder could faintly remember.

She waited a few seconds, until she could only barely hear her. Then she followed, one hand trailing on the tiled wall.

As she rounded a corner, light finally reached her eyes again. Not the steady, yellow light of aging headlights, but the unpredictable, twitchy blue of a flashlight in a shaking hand. Cinder slowed as she reached the entrance to the platform, pressing her back to the wall and peeking around the corner.

The car had finally come to a halt in the center of the platform, finally reduced to a mess of crumpled metal. The place where Cinder had hit the vehicle was clearly visible, reducing the backseat door to a crumpled mess, the other pinned against a concrete pillar. The passenger’s door was similarly crumpled shut, but the window was shattered, and the seat was empty. The driver’s door, however, was missing entirely. Even from a distance, Cinder could make out a figure slumped against the steering wheel, motionless in the unsteady light.

Then the light moved again, sweeping across the platform, and Cinder caught sight of the pale-haired woman holding the flashlight. Long, white-blonde hair, woven into a braid. Pale eyes searched the void of the subway platform in front of her. As her head moved, the light caught on a long scar ran across the edge of her left eye.

Weiss Schnee, daughter of the late Jacques Schnee, CEO of the late Schnee Dust Company.

And between her and the car, barely more than a shadow that moved only when the light was off her, Belladonna was slowly closing in, handgun drawn.

“Ruby? Ruby, come on, we need to get out of here, I’m sorry but you need to crawl over her.” Schnee’s voice cracked at the end of the sentence. She glanced over her shoulder, sweeping the flashlight towards the entrance.

Cinder slunk backwards, hidden behind the corner and metal debris strewn across the platform. But Belladonna didn’t stop moving, silently sidestepping the light and tilting her head down, keeping her feline eyes from reflecting. The human wasn’t going to see her until it was too late.

A loud thunk from the other side of the crumpled door. “It’s almost open, give me a sec!” The voice wavered and cracked.

Schnee’s focus shifted, looking around as though looking for something to pry the door open with. “Shit. Shit, shit, _shit_.”

Something was off. Ruby voice trembled, but not as much as it should have. Schnee’s eyes were too wide, too focused.

Cinder’s eye turned to Xiao Long’s motionless body in the driver’s seat. Still no sign of movement – but she was turned towards the open door. Like she was waiting.

The realization came too late, as a shadow finally crossed in front of the flashlight.

A choked yelp cut through the air. Schnee collided with the car, frantically grappling with the hand locked on her throat. The flashlight dropped to the ground, and Cinder scrambled to her feet, sprinting across the platform.

“WEISS!” She could see Ruby Rose inside the car, fighting to kick the door open. She could also see that the driver’s seat was suddenly empty.

Belladonna’s voice was hoarse as she leveled the gun, training it on the frozen woman’s chest. “Don’t make this difficult, Schnee.”

Glass crunched. Then a woman with long, tangled hair leapt up from the other side of the car.

Xiao Long was far more visible than Belladonna, but at the speed she was moving, stealth didn’t matter. The faunus girl barely had time to look up before the blonde human collided with her. The flashlight on the ground lit them in an eerie light as Xiao Long had wrenched the faunus away from the car, shoving her back towards the darkness, left hand clamping down on the handle of the handgun.

Cinder skidded to a halt, lifting the rifle, but Schnee had already scrambled to the driver’s side. Ruby had also disappeared, probably ducking down to crawl out of the car.

A snarl of frustration escaped her lips, glancing towards the clashing women.

The fight would have been fascinating to watch on a different day. Belladonna, even with one wrist trapped, was quick and knew how to use the shadows to her advantage. She darted from side to side, constantly jabbing with her free hand, trying to loosen Xiao Long’s grasp without getting hit. But Xiao Long was taller, stronger, and seemed only concerned with keeping her grip on the gun. Her right hand, wrapped in a thick glove, stayed at her side instead of striking at the smaller woman, using her weight to push and pull her around instead. She was stalling, not fighting.

Painfully aware that she was running out of time, Cinder rushed towards the car, circling around it. Schnee’s white braid flashed in the faint light. Ruby had hit the overhead light, trying to worm her way over the broken seat that Xiao Long had been in. But she was looking down, trying to stay away from broken glass. Cinder abandoned stealth altogether and moved forwards, fully aware that she was visible now.

Schnee was easier to see. Ruby would stop if she fell. If they’d had a weapon, they would have used it by now.

The sight of her rifle lined up with where her braid met the back of her head.

A furious, inhuman snarl reverberated off the tile walls, and she instinctively knew she’d been seen.

Before Cinder could stop herself, her gaze wavered.

She caught sight of Xiao Long’s wild lilac eyes as they moved from her to Belladonna. Belladonna was scrambling backwards, right arm pinned across her chest, still clutching the gun. The blonde followed, keeping the gun wrenched down. She raised her right arm as though for a huge blow to the unprotected right side of her opponents’ head. Belladonna would have to drop the gun to block it.

Xiao Long was going to be armed in two seconds.

Cinder swivelled, rifle raised, but she was in a bad spot now. Belladonna was between her and the girl – if she missed, she’d be down a bullet and Xiao Long would be up three.

The arm came down.

Belladonna’s ears flattened, as though bracing for the hit. But she didn’t release the gun.

She might have withstood a strike from a normal arm. But Cinder already knew that it wasn’t flesh and bone hiding underneath the glove.

Metal collided with flesh, and Belladonna dropped to the ground like a stone, leaving Xiao Long standing over her motionless body.

Cinder’s finger found the trigger. But Xiao Long’s eyes found her faster.

A gunshot echoed off the walls, deafening her, but Xiao Long had already jumped out of the way, jumping towards the flashlight on the ground. her newly won handgun up and fixed on Cinder.

Cinder scrambled away, a shot ricocheting from the spot she’d just been in moments ago. She fumbled for the last bullet in her pocket, hastily loading it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ruby and Schnee racing into the dark, towards the empty subway track.

_They’re going to get away._

She skidded to a halt behind another pillar, leaned, and desperately aimed for Weiss’ retreating back.

Instead she found Ruby Rose, standing between them, defiance etched into every line of her body.

Light washed over her.

**_BANG_ **

Pain cracked up her arm, drowning out the dull thud of her back hitting the ground, drowning out her own scream.

But it didn’t drown out the sight of the girl turning on her heel and vaulting off the edge of the platform.

The scream mutated into a furious, terrified howl as Ruby Rose disappeared into the dark.

The light moved, bringing her thoughts back. She forced herself to inhale. _The sister. The sister is still here._ She clutched her gloved arm to her chest, pain rolling up her arm in nauseating waves. Slowly, she raised her head.

The flashlight was still clenched in the girl’s gloved hand, up and trained on Cinder. But Xiao Long had turned away from her to kneel beside her fallen opponent, still motionless on the tile floor. She pressed her wrist against Belladonna’s neck, feeling for a pulse without dropping the gun.

Cinder’s knuckles tightened on her own rifle. Both of them only had one bullet left. She had no doubt that, if Xiao Long was taking time to check for a pulse on a fallen enemy, she had absolutely checked to see how many rounds she had left. She wasn’t going to use it and leave herself defenseless against the Grimm in the tunnels. Meanwhile, Cinder would have been more than happy to use her last round to kill the young woman – but she couldn’t lift her arm to aim, and even if she pulled the trigger, the recoil would probably hurt Cinder more than the bullet would hurt Xiao Long.

Frustration burned as Cinder watched the girl feel for Belladonna's pulse. Her eyes were wide, the skin around the corners crinkled, dark bags clearly visible underneath. A moment later, they closed as she gave a short sigh of relief. 

Cinder inhaled, breathing harsh through bared teeth. “Getting tired of fighting yet, Xiao Long?”

The woman’s head jerked up, expression hardening in a heartbeat. “Getting tired failing yet, Fall?”

Rage vibrated in Cinder’s bones. “Bold talk, considering you’re the least valuable one out of the three.”

Xiao Long snorted, walking past her, staying out of reach. “And yet I’m always two steps ahead of you.”

Cinder forced herself to sit up, still cradling the agonized arm against her chest. “I imagine that’s what a deer would tell itself while running from a wolf.” She spat at the woman’s back. “Enjoy your head start, girl. It won’t last long.”

Xiao Long didn’t stop, didn’t even turn around. The flashlight clicked off, leaving only the dim light from the car’s cabin lights. “Find a better metaphor, bitch. Lone wolves always starve.”

Her footsteps sped up, hopping off the platform and jogging into the dark. In the silence that followed, Cinder could hear voices that were no longer human or faunus welling up from the depths, howling and chattering like coyotes.

Cinder forced herself to take a breath. She wasn’t going to run after them. A mixture of fury, frustration, and fear seeped into her bones, but she hadn’t gotten this far by being stupid. She had no doubt that they had a plan to get around the waiting Grimm; all three girls had proven themselves dangerous and cunning when backed into corners.

She had to be smarter about this if she wanted Ruby Rose to stay in her clutches for longer than ten minutes.

A weak groan reached her ears. Belladonna had lifted her head, one hand coming up to gingerly touch the side of her head

Far above them, she heard footsteps running down the stairs. Taurus’ voice, echoing. “Wait there, shoot anything that doesn’t have me with it.”

Cinder watched the girl’s head jerk up. Even while barely conscious, and in dim light, there was no questioning the fear in her eyes.

She thought of Emerald and Mercury – barely more than children, both fiercely loyal to only her after the smallest amount of compassion.

_Lone wolves always starve._

With a grunt of effort, Cinder pushed herself onto her good hand and got to her feet, slinging the rifle onto her shoulder. She pulled her long glove back up and twisted it as best she could, pulling the sleeve of her jacket lower to cover the hole that the bullet had punched into it. Pain still bit at every inch of it, but it was slowly fading.

She grabbed Belladonna’s shoulder as she struggled to stand. “Wait. Come here.”

The girl seemed too frightened and disorientated to argue. She stumbled along as Cinder led her around the car, then sat her down to lean into the corner formed between the pillar and the crumpled back door. “Stay down.”

Belladonna stared in obvious confusion, but she nodded.

She didn’t waste any more time, standing up and turning towards the entrance. “Taurus! They’ve gone into the tunnels!”

“Shit.” Cinder’s hearing was sensitive for a human, at least, in her opinion. She still couldn’t see him in the dark, but the footsteps sounded like they’d reached her floor. “Where’s Blake?”

So that was her first name. Cinder filed that away. “She went after them. She said she was-“

“What?” Taurus’ face finally appeared from the shadows. The mask had come off at some point, revealing a clear brand searing across the right side of his face, and a single blue eye glaring at her. “She ran off?”

“I said she ran after them.” Her voice rose, very real irritation biting into her tone. “She's going to herd them towards Fifth Street Station.”

For a long moment, Cinder Fall and Adam Taurus just stared each other down. He was… admittedly, not an ugly man, she thought as she let her eyes flick over him once. But if the large black horns jutting from his head weren’t enough to kill any interest she might have had, the boyish scowl on his scarred face was more than enough to do the rest.

Then he turned on his heel and hollered back into the darkness. “ILIA! TAKE THE TRUCK AND HEAD FOR FIFTH STREET!”

He turned back to her and started towards the end of the platform.

A clawed hand landed on his chest. She wondered if he would notice the way the fingers still trembled with pain, or the fact that the decorative plates that were supposed to disguise the claws didn’t quite line up now.

Taurus took a slow, reluctant step back, eyeing her warily.

“The tunnel is crawling with Grimm. Not the wimpy kind, either.” Her eyes narrowed. “These girls are no fools. They’ll have another way out, and if they get an opportunity to lead pursuers into a horde and then leave them trapped, they’ll take it. Follow their tracks and keep your distance.”

“Understood.” He growled. “Are you going to let me go and chase your problem now?”

The beauty of fishing was that aggressive fish always took the bait. “On the contrary, Adam - I think you’re chasing _your_ problem.”

The single blue eye widened slightly, then narrowed. But he surprised her. Rather than snapping, the man gave a low laugh that didn’t quite reach his eye. “’My problem’ is exactly what Belladonna is. Now get out of my way so I make sure she didn’t screw this up.”

Cinder stepped out of his way, gesturing with a flourish.

Exactly as expected, the man barreled past her and leapt off the platform without a second look.

She glanced backwards, and found Belladonna curled into a tiny ball against the tire. A pair of wide eyes were still fixed on the tunnel – probably watching Taurus as he retreated.

Internally, Cinder grinned ear to ear.

Externally, she reached out with her good arm. “Come on. It won’t take him long to give up the chase.”

The girl hesitated for a long moment, glancing between the outstretched hand and Cinder’s face.

“Would you rather wait for him, and explain what happened?”

It was a gamble. But it paid off.

Her hand gripped Cinder’s, pulling herself to her feet.

The climb out of the subway seemed to take far, far longer than their descend into it. Even with a head injury, the girl’s eyes were far more sensitive than hers, and she weakly led Cinder back up the stairs, avoiding the worst of the debris.

As they climbed, a quiet, low voice drifted from beside her. “…the girl I was fighting. What’d she hit me with?”

“Her right arm is a prosthetic below the elbow. Brutal fighter, using it like that.” Cinder let some annoyance seep into her voice. “I wish you’d just dropped the gun, you could have chased them.”

Only silence answered her for a long moment. When her voice came, it was so low that Cinder knew she wasn’t meant to hear it. “It was all I had.”

Light finally reached them as they reached the top of the stairs and slowly hobbled towards Cinder’s battered, but functional SUV. Twilight seemed bright as noon after the garage.

Cinder opened the passenger door, turning to watch as Belladonna slowly climbed in. As she’d suspected, blood seeped from the girl’s hairline, right in front of her left ear. Xiao Long must have missed her temple by less than an inch.

She carefully closed the door behind her, setting her jaw as she walked back towards her own door. _Game on._

The girl suspiciously leaned away as Cinder climbed in and reached past her, opening the glove box. She forced herself to move casually as she grabbed the waiting bottle of painkillers, then the small first-aid kit.

Cinder wasted no time in cracking the bottle open, swallowing two pills dry. Then carefully dug through the kit, pulling out some gauze. She ripped open the packaging with some difficulty and offered it to her. “Head wounds bleed like a bitch, press this against whatever hurts worst. Did she get your ear?”

“…no.” She didn’t take the gauze. “What do you want from me?”

Of course, she could claim that she was doing this out of the goodness of her heart, but Belladonna wasn’t going to buy it anyways, and frankly Cinder didn’t have the patience to keep up appearances. She kept the gauze outstretched. “Your help.”

“We have been helping you.”

“I said _your_ help. Specifically.”

The amber eyes narrowed. “I just screwed up the entire plan. Ilia and Adam are probably going to find them in the tunnels anyways. You don’t need my help.”

“May I call you Blake?”

The bright golden eyes flicked over her. “No.”

Cinder snorted at that. “Well, Belladonna, no offense – I know all three of you are very capable – but this chase was over the second they hopped off the platform. Yang Xiao Long ran smuggling rings in those tunnels with her mother for years – she knows exactly where she’s going, and she will have twenty different tricks up her sleeve to make sure that no one follows them. Now, put this on your head, listen to my offer, and then you can make whatever choice you want.”

Her expression didn’t change. But Belladonna took the gauze, pressing it against her head with a barely noticeable wince.

Cinder tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, and made her play in a low, tired voice. “Bottom line is, I need that girl. I am willing to do nearly anything, and make deals with anyone, if it makes that happen. And while I would prefer her to be in my custody soon, I am willing to bide my time for a surer outcome.” She kept her eye locked on the golden, suddenly very attentive ones. “I’ve gotten the impression that Taurus wants Schnee almost as badly, and he won’t react well to your failure to capture her. Have I assumed correctly?”

Belladonna’s brow furrowed. Her eyes darted back and forth slightly.

Cinder waited.

“…yes.” Her voice was barely audible. “You have.”

She tilted her head. “I was watching your attack in the station. I haven’t met anyone that’s mastered stealth quite the same way you have.”

The girl blinked. “…it was darker than a Grimm’s ass, they wouldn’t have seen a truck coming.”

“If you insist.” Cinder had just been fishing for a reaction, and the compliment had flown straight over the girl’s head. The staunch denial spoke volumes on its own – she was used to praise being used as a weapon. Cinder leaned back, eyeing her. “I saw what I needed to see.”

Clearly, Belladonna wasn’t interested in playing any games. She narrowed her eyes. “What did you need to see?”

“A mystery – why are you still hanging around with Taurus and Amitola when your skill so clearly outmatches theirs?”

“Because it doesn’t. I-“

“-could have tracked those girls through the subway tunnels with ease if you weren’t unconscious. You also could have silently snuck up on them and pursued them if Taurus hadn’t spooked them. Really, Taurus’ only advantage seems to be his charisma and physical strength, neither of which are useful in this situation.”

“Why bother involving him, then, if he’s useless?” The girl grumbled, looking away.

“Precisely.”

Belladonna looked back up at her with a touch of alarm.

On the outside, Cinder knew that she looked tired and perhaps somewhat cold, but understanding. On the inside, she was focused, watching every movement like a predatory surveying prey. Belladonna was hooked on the line; it was only a matter of reeling her in.

“You asked me what I want earlier. I want you to track down those three girls, and help me bring in Ruby Rose. In return, I’ll tell Taurus, Amitola, and anyone else that asks that you were able to follow them through the tunnels and managed to send me a message once you’d gotten out. No one will ever know anything about your fight with Xiao Long.” She paused for a breath, watching Belladonna’s blank expression. “Once Ruby Rose is mine, and both Schnee and Xiao Long are neutralized, I will reward you as you see fit. You can return to your friends, and as a show of thanks I will provide support and supplies as needed. You can simply disappear into the night and I will make sure they never find you. Or, if you’d prefer, you can take a place at my side within Salem’s inner circle.”

Her ears flattened slightly. “You want me to track three girls, kidnap one of them, and kill the other two.”

“Not quite. I want you to track three girls so _I_ can kidnap one of them, and I don’t care what happens to the other two as long as they can’t interfere.”

Belladonna didn’t reply, or even react, for a long moment. Cinder waited, patiently.

“I have two conditions.”

Of course she did. Cinder gave a short sigh, rolling her shoulders. “Let’s hear them.”

“No more debts for Taurus or I- Amitola. Their slates get wiped clean, they only help you if they want to.”

Cinder pretended to think it over. Really, all the three faunus owed her was a couple nights of food and shelter when she’d found them fleeing from the White Fang. They’d long since repaid her, but clearly Taurus hadn’t shared that information. “…very well. They don’t need my help very much anymore anyways, I’m sure they’ll be fine.” She rested her head on the steering wheel, eyeing her. “And the other one?”

Her voice was quiet, but firm. “I want to know why you need this girl. No lies and no half-truths. Tell me exactly what’s so special about her.”

Cinder considered finding someone else to do the job. The girl was smart, and stealthy, and talented, but there had to be others that were just as good.

But sometimes playing the right cards meant you had to reveal part of your hand.

She gave a short sigh, flexing the clawed hand on the steering wheel, and started the SUV. “How much of the original infection do you remember?”

“…enough. I was fifteen, but I paid attention.”

Cinder had only been nineteen, but the girl didn’t need to know that. “Do you remember anyone talking about ‘The Brothers’?”

“Yeah. Two diseases that worked off each other. If you get both, you end up a Grimm. Right?”

“Somewhat.” Cinder steered the SUV back onto the road, slowly making her way back down the street she’d sped down minutes and hours ago. “Quick version is, two diseases went through the world within a few months of each other. The first was a virus – brand new, incredibly contagious, no treatment or vaccine ever developed for it, but the only reason anyone noticed it was because people were recovering from autoimmune disease while infected with it. Some poetic asshole called it Lux Virus. The second was Tenebris – parasitic infection that’d been around for years. More common in animals than humans, but it was a bitch to treat. The larvae lived in the saliva and bloodstream; the adults invade tissue. You would see animals come in with bites that they’d gotten days ago, but all the tissue was already dead around it. It usually spread slowly, so you could save the animal if you hit it with anti-parasitics quickly enough.” Her wrist burned. “Some time after the virus spread, we started seeing really bad Tenebris infections. Their entire bodies turned black and began to rot, they turned vicious, but they weren’t dead. Actually, they were harder to kill than usual.”

“Grimm.” She saw Belladonna’s head tilt. “You talk about it like you were involved.”

“I was volunteering in a vet clinic when it started.” She lied, focusing on the road. “Found out later that Lux virus affected the immune system, but, for whatever reason, it set the stage for Tenebris invasion. Immune system thinks larvae and adults are normal cells and doesn’t attack them, even when they start killing tissue. You probably know the rest of the story – the disease spread, some idiots claimed that faunus were the carriers,“ Belladonna’s hand tightened on the gauze, “And humankind fell into ruin less than a year after the first Grimm was spotted. They called it the Brothers Complex.”

Belladonna didn’t speak for a long moment. When she did, her voice was quiet. “So… what does that have to do with the girl?”

“There are three people I know of that have survived infection. One localized the infection to one limb and kept it there. Another somehow reached harmony with the infection, but still looks human… mostly. Ruby Rose,” Cinder said, knuckles tightening on the steering wheel, “is the only known person that never showed any sign of infection at all.”

The silence beside her turned from confusion to shock. “…she’s immune?”

“Maybe.” She bitterly grumbled. “We don’t know.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Belladonna staring at her. “Is Salem trying to make a cure?”

Irritation burned. “I don’t think Dr. Salem’s plans are really relevant to you.”

Belladonna’s eyes narrowed. “You want my help? Motivate me.”

“I could turn this car around and find Taurus. I’m sure he’d be happy to hear about how you didn’t kill Schnee when you had the chance.”

She could see a flash of fear before Blake’s ears pinned down. “I could jump out the window and find my own way.”

Cinder gave a long, frustrated sigh. In reality, she’d already decided to tell her - she was nearly there, she’d have to stop to radio Emerald and warn her that they would be coming. But Belladonna would be more loyal if she felt like Cinder had gone out on a limb for her.

She bit her lip, then pulled the SUV over. Reluctantly, she pulled the glove from her left arm. Then reached up and hit the light.

Immediately, the girl gasped, jumping backwards. Cinder couldn’t really blame her.

Bone protruded from the ends of her fingers, forming claws barely protected by a thin sheet of keratin. Her flesh was stained an unnatural red-black, muscles atrophied to the point of the arm looking like a skeleton wrapped in dark fabric. Yet, it moved easily as she rotated it, each tendon defying logic as they moved with her commands. The hole from Xiao Long’s bullet came into view, and the metal below shone in the car’s interior light. Here, the flesh showed its true strength – the bullet had already been pushed to the edge of her skin, the parasites within her tissue working to knit the wound together.

And around her bicep, about two inches thick, stretched a warzone. Tiny scars pockmarked the skin, formed from countless injections, patches, tourniquets, and implantations into tissue that was already hypersensitive to pain. Above it stretched healthy tissue, as if unaware of the destruction only inches below it.

“Now,” She hissed to the wide-eyed faunus, “Do you understand why I, personally, would be _desperate_ to get my hands on that girl?”

The night was silent around them. Nothing moved. Nothing breathed.

Blake Belladonna finally met her gaze. “I’ll do it.”

“Wonderful. I’ll have my assistant tend to your head and then bring you back to the station come morning. In the meantime, I’ll direct Taurus and Amitola to start their search elsewhere.” Cinder forced a smile onto her face as she carefully pulled the glove back over unnatural skin. “Welcome to the team, Miss Belladonna.”

* * *

Nearly a full story below the pavement, insultingly close to the platform that Cinder had nearly caught her on, Ruby Rose sat stock-still against the wall. Weiss’ shoulder pressed against her, breathing barely audible.

The plan was going extremely well, considering she’d made it in about fifteen seconds while in a car that was careening backwards down a staircase. She’d hoped that Taurus and his two followers wouldn’t be able to resist going after Weiss – luckily, she’d been right, and it had been someone that Yang was able to disarm. Cinder hadn’t heard the lack of Weiss and Ruby running away over her own screaming, and Yang’s footsteps sold the illusion that they’d fled down the tunnel.

In reality, she and Weiss were crouched under the overhang of the platform, only about thirty feet away from where the car had finally stopped. Taurus had run straight past them – she’d been able to feel Weiss panic and press closer, but he hadn’t even glanced down.

But she’d heard snippets of a conversation with the girl that Yang had hit. She couldn’t see Weiss looking at her, but she’d felt her nervously shifting her weight. The last thing they needed was more enemies.

But they’d quickly disappeared, leaving her and Weiss sitting alone in the tunnel, listening for even the slightest hint of danger. The first obvious one came in the form of chilling, chattering voices echoing down the tunnel. The Grimm that they’d nicknamed Apathy weren’t nearby, but the echo made judging exactly how far away they were difficult.

The second was far closer, and far more ominous. Slow, but heavy footsteps on the metal rails, coming back towards them. Yang wouldn’t be walking that loudly.

The footsteps paused. Then, a soft click split through the air. A tiny orange flame blinked to life.

Taurus was barely visible as he left the tunnel, but she could hear him swearing under his breath. The faint orange light reflected off his face, and Ruby could clearly read the letters SDC in the scars across his face.

Ruby slowly extended her arm, pressing Weiss against the wall behind her. If he saw them, she wouldn’t have much time to act.

He lifted the lighter, trying to find the platform. The light caught on something metallic, reflecting behind him.

It took Ruby a moment to recognize her sister’s prosthetic arm, the glove that she used for driving gone. It took another before she realized Yang was standing on one of the subway rails, staring at Taurus’ back, waiting for him to make a wrong move.

Unaware of the woman hidden in his blind spot, Taurus grunted and hauled himself up onto the platform. As he did, Ruby heard the faint scuffle of feet as Yang ducked sideways and joined them under the overhang. Moments later, the faint light lit the tunnel again as he turned around, waving the lighter back at the empty tunnel.

A pause, then a low sigh. “I’m gonna snap her damn neck one of these days.”

Feet echoed across the station, but Ruby had no intention of falling for a trick she’d just used. She leaned towards the dark patch where she assumed Yang was. “We go before he leaves the room.” Her voice was barely audible even to herself.

An answering hum. She heard Yang’s clothes rustle as she stood, watching.

A long pause. Then a low hiss. “Now.”

Both Ruby and Weiss jumped up, grabbing the edge of the platform and hauling themselves up. Ruby’s head jerked up, eyes wide. The orange light was still reflecting off the walls – off the platform, in the stairwell. Moving, not just left in the hallway as a distraction while he came back to find them.

Yang’s hand appeared on her arm, pulling her forwards. She felt Weiss’ hand fist in the back of her jacket, following along as they were led blindly into the dark.

“…five, six, seven…” Yang’s voice, barely audible, counted off the steps as they hurried down the platform. “…eight. Here.” Her older sister skidded to a halt, turning on her heel. Ruby reached out and found smooth tile wall.

A metallic click, and then hinges moved, mercifully not squeaking.

Ruby scrambled through the doorway as it opened, barely turning in time to avoid Weiss and Yang as they followed. The door closed, and the flashlight finally clicked on.

An old maintenance room came into focus as Yang swept the light across it. Signs of life decorated it – a box of rations, an empty duffel bag. But a layer of dust from the gravel outside coated it, making it clear that no one had walked through the room in a while.

Ruby turned, and found both Yang and Weiss in the process of deflating. Yang crashed against the wall with a loud, exhausted sigh. Weiss leaned backwards against a cracked desk, both palms over her face, taking short breaths that sounded more like hysterics.

Ruby winced as she watched the two women crumble. “…are you guys okay?”

Weiss choked out a laugh, but didn’t seem to trust herself to speak.

“Been better, been worse.” Yang’s voice was dull, but the tiny smile she sent Ruby was filled with softness and relief. “You?”

She shrugged, returning the weak, tired smile. “Been better, been worse.”

“Where are we, exactly?” Ruby glanced over and found Weiss staring at the dusty box of rations, probably trying to distract herself.

“Old Branwen waypoint. Apathy choked off the tunnel about a year ago, no one’s been down here since.” Yang reluctantly got to her feet, dragging over a shelf to wedge it against the door. “Walls are thick enough that Grimm can’t hear you in here. I don’t know about faunus, though.”

“So, there’s no way out?”

“Nope – but they don’t know that.” Yang hooked a metal bar under the door handle, stepping back with a satisfied huff. “We’re gonna wait down here for a couple hours and let them think we got out a different way.”

“Aah.” Weiss pawed through the box, chewing her lip. When she turned around, she had a map in her hand. “…anyone got any bright ideas where we should go now?”

Yang rubbed her face, sitting back against the wall. “You guys make the plans, I’m just the muscle.”

“You were one of those people that always said, ‘I don’t care where we eat for dinner’, weren’t you?”

“I dunno, where do you wanna eat?” A smirk clung to her face.

Weiss rolled her eyes with an exhausted snort.

Ruby, on the other hand, kept watching her sister. Her eyes had fallen to the ground, and the smirk was slowly fading. “…Weiss, take a look over the map. See if there’s anywhere within range that we can spend the night. We’ll work on a long term plan once we’re safe.”

She didn’t wait for a response, instead slowly walking towards Yang and sitting down in front of her. “…hey. You sure you’re okay?”

The tired lilac eyes flicked up to her. Yang gave a short exhale of amusement. “I’m fine, Rubes. Just tired.”

“You don’t look fine.”

The metal arm, covered with flaking yellow paint, reached out and clumsily tousled her hair. “How about this – stay away from the crazy bitch, and I’ll be fine. That sound better?”

It didn’t, really. But as good as Ruby was at trying to get people to listen, Yang was an expert at refusing to talk about her own emotions. Guilt nibbled at the edges of her thoughts – Weiss had chosen to stay with her, despite the danger. She doubted Yang could leave as easily. She would just need to watch.

So she smiled back at her. “I can do that.”

“…hey. I have… a thought, I guess.”

Ruby turned back to Weiss. “Somewhere for the night?”

“Uh, no. No, um…” She was looking at the map, chewing at her lip. “…long term. Somewhere we could go.” She sat down beside them, handing the map over to Ruby, tapping a single spot.

Ruby blinked, looking at the area. It wasn’t in the city at all, but in a small town in the mountains west of the city. Specifically, a gated lakeside neighborhood, where the rich people had their cottages and –

_Oh._

She looked up. Weiss was still biting her lip, looking away, tapping her thumb against her knee.

“Thought you said you didn’t want to go there.” Ruby said, quietly.

“I don’t. But… I think we should go.” The pale blue eyes finally met hers. “No reason to think it’s not still working.”

Yang shifted her weight, glancing between them. “…okay, the muscle needs a little more information than that.”

Weiss took a deep breath, setting her jaw. “My… friend, Klein. He built a multi-level bunker there for my family. Solar power, plumbing, hydroponic plants, the works. I lived in it for two years before I left.” Ruby knew there was far more to the story than that. But Weiss’ eyes were fixed on the spot on the map. “It’s probably been sitting empty for a few months. Even if all the fancy stuff is broken, it’s a secure hole in the ground. No one ever found it.”

Yang leaned forwards, eyeing the map with interest. “…Glenn. Might take a week if we hurried.”

“It’ll probably take closer to two or three. We’ll have to dodge Grimm and lay low to avoid Cinder and company. But once we’re there, I don’t think it would be easy for them to get to us. They’d probably assume we’re dead and stop looking after a while.”

Ruby slowly nodded, frowning. She slowly tapped her fingers on her leg. “…I don’t think Cinder will ever stop looking for me, as long as she’s alive.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yang’s eyes fall, her jaw tensing. “But I don’t have a better idea – at least this is a plan.”

Weiss nodded, and Ruby couldn’t tell if she was happy about it or not.

Yang looked down at her bloodstained sleeve. Then, as suddenly as though she’d flipped a switch, she reached up, combed her hair away from her face, and leaned forwards to flip through the book in Weiss’ hands, then stopped as she reached the page that held their subway system. She jabbed at a corner three blocks away. “There. That’s a noodle house that’s still standing. We go there tonight, and then we start heading for Glenn.”

Ruby raised an eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t want to make the plans.”

The bags under Yang’s eyes had never looked more pronounced as she winked back at her. “Not just a pretty face, Rubes.”


	2. No Country for Young Women

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad to see everyone is enjoying this so far!! We're getting into the meat of the story now, and I'm managing to keep pretty close to my policy of not publishing the next chapter until the one after it is written. 
> 
> As always, typo hunting is encouraged, and feedback in general is adored!! Enjoy <3

_Footprints in the dust, leading down a tunnel full of chattering voices. Darkness choked off the end of it, so thick that even her eyes couldn’t cut through to find the end._

_She was running, but her movements felt slow. Her head hurt. Her gun was gone. The walls of the tunnel pressed in, until the ceiling scraped against her ears._

_A voice, directly behind her ear, deafeningly loud. “Don’t fuck this up.”_

Blake jerked upright, biting down on a yell of panic, her heart slamming against her ribs.

For a long moment, she sat dead still, unsure if the nightmare had ended or just shifted. Darkness shrouded the room, but this time her eyes easily cut through it. Cash register. Bookshelves. Paper strewn around the floor.

A nightmare, yes. But the one she lived in, rather than the ones her mind created for her.

Blake slowly slumped backwards, resting her head on the backpack that served as her makeshift pillow. She didn’t bother looking at her watch - she’d jerked awake with the same nightmare at almost exactly one o’clock in the morning for the better part of the past week.

Her ears perked up, out of a practice born of long habit. The dying bookstore around her slowly creaked and groaned as it shifted. The jacket she’d thrown over herself rustled. Wind and rain hissed through the broken, boarded windows around her. In the distance, voices that were no longer human howled and chattered like coyotes.

Blake tiredly inhaled again. Time to start the day.

She’d fallen into an odd, but comfortable routine. Dig through her pack to make sure nothing had been stolen by a clever thief overnight. Swallow a dose of vitamins. Choke her way through whatever ration she’d set aside last night and drink some water. Quickly scrub over her teeth with a tiny amount of toothpaste and water. Use one of the toilets and add another roll of toilet paper to her bag. Retrieve the rainwater bottles from outside, then find a secluded spot to take advantage of the rain pouring off the roof. Scrub herself down with some soap and a cloth, while watching for any sign of intruders or Grimm. Retreat inside to dry off and take inventory of her many cuts and bruises. Run a hairbrush through her hair, trim it back to above her shoulders if need be. Pull on a new shirt and pair of pants from her backpack, then either toss away the old set or stow them away. Stretch out her legs and arms. Strap the hunting knife’s holster to her belt and around her leg. Get ready to leave.

Still shivering from her cold shower, Blake shrugged a worn black jacket over her shoulders. She took one more look around the old bookstore she’d slept in. It had been safe enough, with no rotting food to attract animals or humans. Her fingers hesitated on the book she had allowed herself to read before falling asleep. A tiger’s snarling face adorned the front cover. She’d only gotten past chapter three before finally succumbing to sleep – a story about a man’s quest for revenge, and his slip into madness.

She turned her attention back to the backpack, and carefully took stock of the various drug boxes she’d added last night. Then she zipped it closed, slung it onto her back, and left the book where it was. It hit a little too close to home.

The night, technically, belonged to the Grimm. But her eyes were just as good, and even while contained inside a hood, her ears were far better. Blake carefully stepped through the shattered window, scooting broken glass out of the way with her shoe before stepping down. The wet, shiny world outside was easy to see, even with rain choking the moonlight. Blake adjusted her hood, and set off down the street, keeping to the sidewalk, doing her best to avoid splashing through puddles. Even on a deserted street in the dead of night, she preferred to be silent.

A raccoon shuffled into view around a shattered bus stop on the other side of the street. She slowly sidestepped, waiting for it to move away before continuing. Most of the Grimm that she saw were animals that reproduced quickly – rats, rabbits, even larger things like cats and dogs. Not that size mattered when it only took one bite. Keeping away from wildlife was a better idea than not.

It wasn’t just Grimm’s attention that she had to avoid. By now, she knew that her quarry would be asleep in a house somewhere, probably watching through boarded-up windows. But she knew they wouldn’t be here. She was looking for signs that they’d passed through, not the women themselves.

The wound on her head was mostly healed. The blow to her dignity, however, was far from it.

Tracking the three women had proven to be an uphill battle. She’d caught whispers of their passing, but by the time she caught up with the spot, they were already gone, leaving few signs they’d ever passed. With every day that passed, her frustration and general bitterness towards the three humans she was chasing grew. If Rose really was immune, she had to be unbelievably selfish. Not that Blake exactly trusted Cinder or Salem herself, but if she’d been immune, she would have given herself up for the greater good immediately.

But, for whatever reason, the three humans didn’t agree and Blake was on her tenth day of chasing them.

She’d briefly crossed paths with Cinder two days ago, while searching for a place to sleep. The woman’s hunting strategy was, admittedly, efficient. She had Blake hunting the women, while Emerald and Mercury did their own searches in the surrounding areas, and Cinder simply bounced between all three before carrying any news back to Salem. She’d seemed patient, cutting off Blake’s nervous apologies by reminding her to leave a trail and to keep her head clear. But Blake knew better than to test the patience of someone with nothing left to lose.

So far, there had been no sign of either Adam or Ilia following her. But at this point, her fear of Adam’s wrath had faded. He would have been furious, and Ilia probably would have had to sneak rations to her for a couple days while he had a tantrum. But he would have given her a second chance, told her to help him track down Schnee in return for ‘forgiveness’. Of course, if he figured out that she’d cut a deal to get away from him… that would be a different situation entirely. Her ears flattened at the thought.

But, her deal with Cinder had become much more than protection from him. If she could find these women, she’d been promised freedom. Maybe, if she played her cards right, she could throw Schnee at Adam’s feet, and maybe it would finally be enough to extinguish the raging desire for revenge. Maybe he would finally turn back into the man she’d loved, and they might be able to go back to the White Fang. And if it wasn’t enough, like the back of her mind had worried since the crusade started, maybe she could convince Ilia to leave him to his madness and they could both find a better life somewhere else.

But none of that was going to happen if she lost Rose.

Blake knew that Cinder wouldn’t hesitate to throw her to the Grimm if she failed. And, despite some very desperate searching, Blake hadn’t been able to find a suitable weapon to replace her beloved old Glock. She’d stumbled across a few rifles, but most were either jammed or had no rounds left. She’d found one with one bullet left – but it was loud and unwieldy, more likely to get her killed in a fight than save her. She’d left them behind in favor of silence and speed.

But, with the whispers of her repeated nightmares starting to take hold, she wished she had something more than her wits and a knife to defend herself with.

Her foot caught on a rock and Blake staggered, her mind abruptly crashing back to the rainy suburb. At least the weather was starting to turn, she thought as she glanced up. It wasn’t unusual to get thunderstorms overnight in the summer, but lately there had been a few big storms during the day. With a big enough storm, they’d be forced to stay put for a couple days and Blake could catch up.

For this morning, at least, she had an easier goal – the boxes of cold medicine and painkillers in her bag were as good as gold in a deteriorating world. And she knew exactly who would be interested in trading for them.

The rain had long since stopped and the eastern horizon was starting to light up as Blake finally reached the edge of a small strip mall. She let out a short sigh of frustration, eyeing the dark sky. She should probably wait until dawn to knock on the door.

Her stomach twinged, reminding her that there were other ways to pass a bit of time.

Reluctantly, she turned away from the mall. This had been an affluent, family neighborhood at some point. One of the houses had to have an apple tree.

Hilariously, Blake had barely even finished the thought before she caught sight of a large apple tree hanging over a broken fence, just behind the mall. The apples weren’t quite ripe, but Blake wasn’t going to complain. Fresh fruit was something she only got to enjoy certain times a year now, and she was more than happy to take advantage of it.

Blake quickly scanned over the overgrown yard, finding no danger, then ducked through a large hole in the fence. She turned, pulling her bag off her back to throw a couple of apples in. By chance, she glanced down, and paused.

An apple core sat at the base of the tree, sheltered from the rain from the leaves above. The fruit’s flesh was nearly pristine, only browning at the edges.

Her eyes slowly traveled back up, scanning the yard with a far more attentive eye. A small pile of cores had been pushed behind a bush – soggy from the rain, but just as fresh.

For a long moment, Blake stared at the eaten apple cores. _Probably just the boys._

Still, something about the situation seemed odd – there were no footprints leading to or from the yard, though the ground near the gate had been scuffed as if to hide a trail. The apple cores had been deliberately hidden. Someone hadn’t wanted to leave signs they’d passed.

Blake leaned her backpack against the tree, then hauled herself up into the tree. Her foot neatly fit into a fork in the branches, letting her brace herself against the trunk. A few apples hung within her reach, but Blake wasn’t looking for them right now. She turned her head, searching for cracks in the branches, tight forks, wherever hair or fabric might catch.

In the dim light, anyone else would have missed it. But Blake’s eyes caught on the tiniest gleam, hanging from a branch at her head level. She reached out, gently untangling the strands of hair and bringing them closer.

Dark. Shorter than hers. And, while colour wasn’t exactly easy to see in the low light, Blake could make out a faint red hue as she moved it between her fingers.

A spark of hope ricocheted around in her chest as Blake pocketed the hair and set to collecting apples for herself. In a way, it made sense – the boys weren’t affiliated with the White Fang or Salem, and they were probably the only traders still around for at least a couple miles. If they’d passed through, they might have stopped to barter. Still, she didn’t dare put the hope into words.

Blake stowed a couple of apples away into the pockets of her jacket, then grabbed a third before carefully making her way back out of the tree. She bit into it, wincing at the sour flavor, but didn’t hesitate to take a second bite as she hefted her bag back onto her shoulders and continued around the mall.

The sign outside was, for the most part, the same one that the pharmacy had bore in its glory days. The bright blue letters didn’t light up at night anymore, but in comparison to the decayed shopping mall around the store, they may as well have.

‘Greystone Pharmacy’, the pristine neon sign read. ‘No guts, no gore, no service’, the hand-painted letters on a plywood board below it helpfully added.

A small smile escaped onto her face as her boots scraped against the cracked pavement. Sun must have finally convinced Neptune to let him add to their ‘storefront’.

Out of habit more than actual worry, she glanced over her shoulder as she neared the broken glass door. The rusted vehicles around her were rooted to their spots by now – it had been a while since she’d been back, but recent changes would show in the layer of dust on the vehicles. Nothing looked out of place, even to her careful gaze.

The eastern sky was getting lighter by the minute, but the sun wasn’t quite up yet. With a sigh of resignation, Blake nudged an old truck’s door open, and sat down on the edge of the passenger seat. She took another bite of the sour apple and patiently waited for the two men that she knew were inside to wake up.

The sun had begun to cast long, orange light across the pavement, and Blake had finished one apple and was debating on starting a second when she caught sight of movement inside the pharmacy. She tensed, watching as a shadowy figure appeared in the doorway. A faint click, and the glass and iron door swung outwards.

Sun Wukong sleepily shrugged a button-down shirt over his shoulders, long golden tail unwinding behind him. The man yawned as he shoved a doorstop under the door, pinning it open, then looked up. Immediately, his gaze found Blake and the blue eyes widened.

A tired, fond smile creased her face as she got to her feet. “Is your boyfriend _ever_ going to teach you how to button up a shirt?”

For a moment, the man just stared at her, jaw open. Then, with a loud whoop, Sun leapt towards her, grinning ear to ear. Blake barely had time to consider escaping before he wrapped her into a hug, golden tail thrashing with excitement. “Blake! Holy HELL, I was starting to think you’d died!”

“Thanks for the faith.” She replied dryly, but let her forehead fall against his shoulder. It really had been too long. “I’m sorry I haven’t been back in a while, things have been…”

“I got it - White Fang, chaos, big city stuff.” Sun pulled back, looking over her worriedly. “Speaking of – why are they sending you all the wait out here?”

“I, uh…” She could feel her ears flattening against her head, betraying her discomfort. “I’m not really working with them right now.”

His eyes lit up. “Did you finally quit?”

“Not exactly.”

“Dammit.” The easy smile suggested he was joking; the way his eyes didn’t leave her suggested he wasn’t. “What brings you out here, then? You in trouble?”

“No, no, I…” The concerned blue eyes tended to force her to speak honestly. “I’m helping someone else out with something. I was in the area, thought I’d drop by and say hi.”

Behind him, a loud cough shattered the air.

Blake tilted her head, and found a tall man with faded brown hair leaning against the pharmacy’s door, watching with a raised eyebrow. “Sorry Blake, he still doesn’t know what ‘tact’ means. I swear, I’ve tried.”

“Believe me, he’s never known.” The smile she sent in his direction was… not entirely comfortable. Neptune was kind of a jerk, but he’d always seemed to respect Sun as an equal. When Sun told her that the two were dating, she’d been happy for him. Ilia and Adam, however, hadn’t exactly shared that sentiment. There was a reason Sun and Neptune had set up shop so far away from the center of the city, and Blake wasn’t sure if Neptune had ever forgiven her for that.

But, today at least, the returning smile looked genuinely friendly. “But I’ve tried so hard to educate him… I was so sure he’d change…” Neptune hung his head as though in genuine pain.

Sun rolled his eyes theatrically. “Hilarious. Did you need anything from us, Blake, or did you just come to help Neptune torture me?”

“Yeah, actually.” She pulled on one of the backpack’s straps, drawing their attention to it. “Found some stuff for you two, was hoping we could do a bit of trading.”

“Oo-oh, exciting.” Neptune waved to her, stepping backwards into the pharmacy. “C’mon, let’s go inside before we attract Grimm.”

They had done a surprisingly good job of maintaining the pharmacy, she thought as she ducked inside. The white shelves had some spots of rust, and there were cracks in the floor, but the store was clean and somewhat organized. A shelf of ‘take and leave’ had been pulled into the middle of the store, lined with water bottles and various things that had been collected and left behind. Bottles of expired medicine still sat on the shelves – but Blake knew that some unexpired or recently expired medications still sat in the storeroom, where the boys kept it safely guarded.

Then again, that wasn’t what she was interested in today.

Neptune ducked behind what had once been a pharmacist’s counter. Sun casually leaned against the counter beside her, eyeing the worn fish-print fabric as Blake set her backpack on the counter. "How long have you had that?"

"Found it." She lied, pushing back the memory of Ilia's grin as she handed the gift to her. "May as well have something nice, right?"

"That's the spirit. So, what’d you find?”

“Drugs, mostly.” She replied with a note of flat humour, hunting through the backpack. “Not the fun kind, though.”

“Sometimes I wish I even had the fun kind.” Neptune corrected, then blinked as a plastic pill vial clunked onto the desk in front of him, fabric shoved into it to stop the pills from rattling. “…Holy shit, how’d you find _Percocet?!”_

“A medicine cabinet in the house I slept in a couple nights ago. Also got some cold stuff.” She gathered up an assortment of red and blue boxes, arranging them on the counter. “Pretty far past the expiry date, but I figured you might be able to use them.”

“Oh, of course.” Neptune cocked his head, studying the side of the bottle closely. “You wouldn’t believe how many people stumble in here looking for painkillers. Lot of times it’s for someone that’s bit, and they just want to take the edge off the pain.”

“Seems like the most humane option is a bullet, not a pill.” Blake grunted, scooping up the backpack.

“Not everyone has a bullet to spare. Plus, I can get rid of the expired or sketchier stuff. It’s not like they need to worry about liver damage.” He glanced back at her. “What do you want to trade it for?”

She rested her forearms on the desk, suppressing the nervous energy in her gut. “Information.”

Neptune snorted, but Blake didn’t miss the split-second glance at Sun. “Information is free. What else do you need?”

She blinked. “Uh… some light painkillers might be nice. A gun would be incredible if you have a spare one.” It was a long shot, but it was worth asking.

“We’ve only got the one hunting rifle, but-”

“No, no I wouldn’t want to trade for the only gun you guys have. Besides, a hunting rifle isn’t a great idea for me.” Blake leaned back, sighing.

Neptune nodded, shooting her a quick smile. “Fair enough. Here, I’ve got some stuff in the back. You interrogate Sun while I dig that up.”

He was tense. It was subtle, but unmistakable.

A pocket of silence welled up beside her as Neptune walked around the desk and disappeared into a back room. It wasn’t like Sun to not speak. But, as she turned her head, he still spoke first. “Are you about to ask if we’ve seen Weiss Schnee?”

She’d been half-expecting it. But hearing the name out loud made the thought real, and poured fuel on the spark of hope. Her pulse skidded to a halt entirely, then rocketed back to full speed. Blake struggled to keep her voice casual, leaning against the desk. “Why? Have you seen her?”

Sun’s eyes bored into her. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen him so serious. “You said you weren’t working with the White Fang anymore.”

“I’m not. It’s…” She bit her lip, then dropped her voice to a whisper. “Adam got himself exiled from the White Fang. Ilia and I went with him, we were working with a human group that’s pulling a lot of strings in the city.”

Sun’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

“Yeah, yeah I know, it’s a long story.” She inhaled. “Look. I fucked something up, and the human we were working with offered me a deal. I track these girls down, I walk away from everything.”

“So, you are in trouble.”

Blake winced, glancing at the spot Neptune had disappeared into. “…more like in debt.”

Sun stared at her for a long, long moment. Then sighed through his nose. “Three humans came in last night, traded a little solar generator for some food and muscle relaxants. Didn’t recognize Schnee at first, but it was definitely her.”

“What did the other two look like?” She could still be disappointed – Schnee could have split off from them. Even then, it would be worth going after her, but…

“Two women. One had short, dark hair, and the scariest goddamn rifle I’ve ever seen in my life. The other one was tall, blonde, and had a prosthetic arm.” Sun’s mouth pressed into a tight line. “Is that who you’re looking for?”

“Holy shit, yes.” The words felt hoarse in her mouth. The scary rifle was… new, but there was no way that there was another group that matched that description. “Their trail’s been cold for weeks, I – did they say where they were going?”

“Not really, but I have a good idea.” He sighed, the dark eyes turning pleading. “But… just tell me you’re not going to hurt them. They were a nice bunch.”

“I’m not.” At least, _she_ wasn’t going to hurt anyone. “I’m just following them.”

The dark eyes only relaxed in the corners of his eyes. “…while they were leaving, I overheard the dark-haired girl ask about stopping to scavenge in Hightown Market tomorrow. No guarantees, but if I were looking for them, I’d start there.”

“Okay.” Blake slowly nodded, then paused. “…you mentioned the one of them had a rifle. Did the blonde have a handgun?”

He slowly nodded. “Yeah. Looked like the one you used to have.”

Blake couldn’t quite stop herself from closing her eyes. She dragged in an inhale, then opened them again. “Okay. Thank you.”

He smiled. It was tired, it was regretful, but this time it did reach his eyes. “Is it yours?”

“No, just wanted to see if she was still armed.” Guilt pulled at her stomach, but she returned the smile. “Gotta ask – how in the hell did Schnee come across as ‘nice’?”

“Oh, she didn’t at first.” Sun laughed with surprising ease, some of his usual humour seeping back. “I figured out who she was when I realized she was terrified of me.”

She snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”

“I’ll give her credit - once she figured out I wasn’t White Fang or interested in her, she was kinda funny in a dry way.” He looked away. “…honestly, I don’t really know if I blame her for jumping to conclusions. Schnee deserved exactly what he got, but-”

“Sun, I’ve gotta get moving if I want to make some ground up.” She cut him off, stomach turning.

“Okay, okay, I get it.” He took a step closer, opening his arms with another quiet smile. “Gimmie a hug before you go?”

Usually, Blake didn’t like hugs. But Sun wasn’t just anyone. She stepped into his embrace and tightened her arms around his torso with a sigh. In return, the arms around her tightened back.

“Be careful.” He muttered into her ear. “You’re always welcome here if you need help.”

Blake bit back a lump in her throat. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Lies, but I’ll go ahead and write that down and frame it anyways.”

A thud. Blake jumped backwards, adrenaline shooting through her before her brain could even attempt to decide what had happened.

Neptune rolled his eyes as he walked back towards them. “My boy hugging a _girl?_ How will I cope?” He placed a neatly folded bag on the desk. “Painkillers, some canned chicken, some canned fish, and some beans.”

It took conscious effort not to prick up her ears at the mention of fish. Blake accepted the bag with a slow smile, taking her bag off her shoulder and quickly stowing it away. “Damn, it’s only getting worse, I don’t deserve either of you.”

“Finally, someone appreciates me. Oh, shit, nearly forgot.” Neptune leaned onto the desk, raising his eyebrows. “If you’re going to Hightown, there’s an ammunition store just west of the market. It doesn’t have a sign, and it was pretty heavily locked down, you’d probably still have to pick the lock to get in. But I’ve been going there to get more rounds for our rifle – it’s not my style, but I’m pretty sure there’s still a couple revolvers hidden away in there.”

A lump formed in her throat. “Thanks. I appreciate it.

“Come back to visit sometime. No drugs required; believe it or not, I would have offered food anyways.”

“How generous.” Blake forced a laugh out of her throat, disguising her racing heart as she turned towards the door and nodded to Sun. “See you soon.”

“You’d better.” The ocean blue eyes lingered in her vision long after she’d turned and stepped through the door.

As she walked away, her ear turned back to catch a whisper of conversation.

“Hey, at least it’s not Adam.”

“Honestly? Whoever she’s working for now could be worse.”

Blake set her jaw and inhaled. On one hand, she was almost deliriously happy that she’d found them. It was only a matter of catching up and staying out of sight. Still, it was more than just slightly annoying that Rose had managed to find a rifle before Blake could find a suitable replacement for her own gun. She would have to be extra careful once she got closer.

It also meant that she couldn’t afford to waste any time or distance. It also meant she couldn’t double back and tell Cinder where she was.

She turned towards the apple tree, then hesitated. She needed to leave a marker. But, not close enough to the pharmacy to put Sun and Neptune in danger.

She scanned the buildings around her and found a church’s steeple rising from the houses. That would do. She grunted as she hopped over a fence and began winding her way though the small neighborhood.

To her relief, the church turned out to be on a turn-off from the highway. The building had been choked off by weeds and overgrown hedges, but the sign out front was in a bed of rocks, and was easily visible from the road. She circled the large sign, finding a blank spot that faced the road. Then, she pulled the knife off her hip.

With practiced movements, Blake scraped a symbol into the wood. An arrow pointing along the highway, with three strikes through the middle. _‘All three passed here, heading north. No visual.’_ With a beat of hesitation, she added the two cat ears that Cinder had told her to add to any symbol that she left behind. As much as she hated it, it was necessary – this particular language wasn’t unique to Cinder’s group.

She shoved the knife back into its sheath and stepped back, appraising it carefully. Obvious to someone who was looking for it, but small enough to escape a casual eye. Still, as she backed away and turned back to the road, she knew she was alone. There was no telling when any of Salem’s other men might pass through the town – and they could still miss it. At least Cinder couldn’t say that Blake hadn’t tried to send word.

Blake pulled a map from her pocket, tracing up from the church. Hightown market – about three blocks off the next exit. She’d eat into her time to sleep, but she would be caught up before the sun set.

She took another long, slow breath to settle her racing heart. Then Blake crossed the highway, climbed the hill, hopped over a backyard fence, and began to make her way towards the market.

* * *

“Hey Weiss, you ever eaten jackfruit?”

“…no? Why would I?”

“You were rich! Rich people eat weird shit.”

“Why- You know what, I’m not even gonna ask anymore. What the hell is a jackfruit, even?”

Yang rested her head against the grocery’s doorway, content to listen to the banter inside as she carefully watched the wide space that had formed a vast indoor market. On a different day, it might have been a peaceful sight – the roof had collapsed over one corner, letting in light from the cloudy sky above, and tree branches had invaded through the windows. But, not many things were capable of making even her body relax these days. Last night they'd had to trade for pills to make the muscles of her imperfect right arm relax - something she was still quietly ashamed of, even though the blissful absence of phantom pain helped clear her head.

Something hard clicked against the floor. Footsteps. Not human ones. Yang’s hand fell to her holster as the sound echoed off the walls.

With a low huff, a round-bellied doe stepped around one of the tattered booths in the center of the space. Its long ears flipped up, wide eyes examining her.

Yang’s hand fell away from the holster as the doe turned its attention to the leafy branches along the other wall. Had it been a young male, and it had been closer, she might have tried to shoot. But there were safer ways to get food – and the human population wasn’t the only one that had been nearly wiped out by Grimm.

She leaned back against the door frame and stretched her bad arm, listening to the girls inside. Honestly, even an argument about an unknown food was positive enough entertainment for her nowadays. Anything to distract from the constant twinge of anxiety deep in her stomach.

In the grand scheme of things, they were doing okay. They’d avoided Cinder’s grasp, they’d made it to the outskirts of the city, and they were stocked up on enough supplies to last for a while. None of these things comforted Yang in the slightest.

She couldn’t decide if she was irritated or thankful that she’d developed such a neurotic worry. Nothing had even happened – but that was the problem. Ten days had passed since they’d made their narrow escape in the subway. There'd been no sign of Cinder or any of Salem’s other cronies, but Yang wasn’t nearly stupid enough to think she’d escaped the grasp of the powerful woman in the center of the city. But there was no way they would have let the three women get this far away if they knew where they were.

It felt like travelling in the eye of a hurricane – one wrong step, and they would be swept away.

“Oh, whoa.”

Her head jerked up.

Ruby had appeared in the doorway, holding a bag labeled in a language she didn’t recognize. An intimidating rifle hung from her shoulder – the lone survivor of an old outpost they’d found, clearly made by men with more guns than brain cells. A sniper rifle was, to say the least, pretty damn impractical for their situation. But it was in perfect condition, it had a full box of ammunition, and Ruby had been so excited to find it that Yang hadn’t had the heart to tell her ‘no’. Besides, they couldn’t have justified leaving behind the only working weapon in the building.

Well… perhaps not the _only_ one. But the others were more of a last resort than a weapon, and they were safely wrapped up in Weiss’ pack.

“She looks healthy.” Yang blinked, realizing Ruby’s gaze was fixed on the doe, still contentedly nibbling on the bush across from the door.

“Yeah.” Yang looked past her, watching for any sign of danger that might take the opportunity to sneak up on them. “Good sign, at least. Must not be many Grimm around.”

“Might be a good spot to hole up for a couple days. Catch our breath, resupply.” Ruby lifted her hands in a hopeful gesture.

“Mm.” It wasn’t a bad idea, and Yang knew it. She’d shot down every mention of it for the past few days, always wanting to move forwards, get further away from the city center. But they hadn’t even reached the city limit yet. Even if they were able to just walk in a straight line without stopping or sleep, Glenn was still at least two days away. Add in that they had to sleep and occasionally hide from Grimm…

“Think about it, don’t say yes or no now.” Yang glanced up, blinking. Ruby offered a weak smile, extending the bag. “These say shrimp chimps. I was gonna try them, you want some?”

 _Poor Ruby's trying to lighten the mood. At least pretend to listen._ Yang sighed and held out her hand with a matching smile. “Yeah, hit me.”

She shook some of the puffed squares into Yang’s hand with a smile. “It’s a lot of salt, but I mean… we kinda need that, don’t we?”

“As long as we don’t go through too much water.” Yang bit down on them, frowning. There was indeed a lot of salt. But there was a definite shrimp flavor to them as well. She wasn’t sure if she liked it or not.

Another bite, and she decided that she wasn’t a fan. She glanced sideways, and found Ruby making a similar face.

“Probably too much salt.”

“Yeah, not worth carrying around.”

“We’d just crush them anyways.”

“…you hate it too, right?”

“Oh, God, yeah get it away from me.”

Ruby gave a small laugh under her breath, bringing a smile to Yang’s face. “I’ll see if Weiss likes ‘em.”

Yang chuckled back, leaning back against the wall as she turned her face back to the market. The doe was still carefully browsing along the overgrown branches that had grown into the building. She didn’t look concerned.

It did nothing to soothe her nerves. Two months of travelling through the ruins of Vale had done wonders to sharpen all three of their senses, even before last week’s close call. But Yang had been watching Ruby’s back for far longer than that; it was second nature to glance over her shoulder, double-check under every surface, to take note of every change around them. It seemed like the universe only wanted her to get more tense – first when the world came to screeching halt, then when she and Ruby were taken in by Raven, then when-

She stopped herself, shaking her head. _Enough. Focus._ She peered up through the broken ceiling at the sky, where the cloudy sky was starting to darken. It would probably storm again tonight, leaving wet ground that would easily leave tracks.

Her arm didn't hurt as much, but her shoulders ached, her feet were sore, and she’d had a headache for the better part of three days. Maybe stopping for a day wasn’t a bad idea.

Then, as if on cue, she caught motion in the corner of her eye.

Yang’s head whirled. The first thing she saw was a second deer – smaller, thinner, standing next the exit door about twelve feet away. The next thing was that the deer’s head was low, ears up, as though looking at something hidden just behind the doors.

This time, she unsnapped the thin leather band keeping the gun in its holster. She still hadn’t found any more rounds in their travels – the one bullet she had was the same one she’d saved on the subway. But that didn’t mean she was afraid to use it.

A rustle. The deer moved forwards, lowering its head to the ground before it passed the edge of the doorway.

Yang stepped through the shattered glass doorway, drawing the gun and disguising her pounding heart with slow, careful movements.

Then the deer backed away and turned, eagerly chewing on something. Its ears flipped up as it saw Yang. Unlike the previous doe, it approached with wide eyes, extending its nose as though hoping for another. Yang waved her hand and it spooked, hooves clattering as it trotted through the doorway to join the larger and much rounder doe.

Yang’s eyes fell back to the doorway. She raised the gun, steadying with her closed metal fist. Then she jumped around the corner.

An empty parking lot. A flowerbed with a single, towering tree, overgrown bushes shadowing its base. And single apple with a bite missing, laying where the deer had been sniffing.

“Yang?” Her head turned. Weiss and Ruby had left the shop, and were standing on the other side of the doorway. Weiss had thrown an arm out to stop Ruby, but both women were tense.

Ruby spoke, her voice high-pitched, a little hoarse, and easily recognizable. “What is it?”

She looked back at the tree. The overgrown hedges around it were too tall, their bases too thick. Someone could easily hide in them. If she looked close enough, she felt like she could see a shadow – deadly still, pressed to the ground.

“Let’s get out of here.” She backed up, mouth dry, but did not holster the gun. “Other entrance, not this one.”

Both women silently nodded, keeping pace with her as she hopped back through the doorway and moved through the empty market. She grabbed her own backpack off the ground, slinging it over her shoulder, and followed as Ruby quickly led them towards the far wall. She turned completely around as they reached the door into a back alley, watching the market as the two women worked to open it.

Her eyes caught on the two deer. The smaller one still chewing on the piece of apple, drooling as though it was too sour for its liking.

Sour apples. Like the ones they’d stopped to eat last night, behind the pharmacy.

It was probably a coincidence. There were more apple trees. But she hadn’t seen any nearby.

“Wait.” She whispered, catching Ruby and Weiss’ attention. “There’s a park across from that gas station that looks like it blew up. Head there, find a good house near it to spend the night. I’ll catch up.”

Weiss opened her mouth to argue, but Ruby had already grabbed her by the handle on her backpack and pulled her down the alleyway, giving Yang a sharp nod.

Yang waited for the two to duck around the corner and disappear before pulling the door shut again.

She reluctantly holstered the gun and snapped the strap back over it. It would make drawing it slower, but she needed her hand – and the holster she’d found was slightly too large for it. If the gun fell out at the wrong moment, it would be the end for her. Then, with startling silence for a woman of her bulk, she moved back through the market towards the shop they’d just been in, being careful to hug the wall and not leave obvious footprints in the dust. Then, making sure she was out of sight of the deer as well as the front door, Yang slung off her backpack and ducked behind a large display cabinet. She rested her head against the wall, watching the hallway from the crack between the cabinet and the wall.

For an agonizing eternity, nothing moved except for the two deer.

Rain began to tap on the shattered roof. She forced herself to inhale as she glanced at the watch strapped onto her prosthetic arm. Only two minutes had passed. Ruby was the one with more ammo, and she would hear her gun go off for miles. They were fine. She was fine.

Another two minutes passed, and she definitely was not fine. She shouldn’t have waited. If someone had been there, they must have gone after Ruby and Weiss instead. They could have disarmed Ruby before she had a chance to shoot. She needed to-

Glass scraped against the floor, and every thought bouncing inside her skull fell silent.

Silence. Then a shadow on the wall, and faint footsteps.

Despite Yang’s position, her instincts, and her sharpened senses, she couldn’t tell how far away the intruder was until a figure appeared around the corner – barely three feet away from her hiding spot.

Around Ruby’s height, but significantly thinner. Rain rolled off a dark jacket, a black backpack adorned with faded purple fish hung from the shoulders. A pause, then a hand came up to pull the hood down.

The bottom of Yang’s stomach dropped.

Pitch black hair hung in messy waves around her face. Two feline ears turned back and forth on her head, listening for even the tiniest noise. Piercing golden eyes shone in the gloom, contrasting with the dark bags beneath them.

The last time she’d seen the woman, she’d been unconscious in a pool of blood, lit by a shaky flashlight beam.

Yang slowly slid further down the wall as Adam Taurus’ right-hand woman slowly scanned the market. The black ears perked up, her eyes narrowed. Yang didn’t dare so much as twitch – if she had any hope of not being seen at all, it was to stay deadly still and hope.

For a long moment, the only sound at all was the deer’s hooves on the floor.

The woman's ear flicked. Then she turned, heading towards the store that they’d just been in with unnatural silence. Yang quickly realized why as she moved away – a pair of thick socks had been pulled on over her shoes, muffling every footstep.

 _Clever._ She took a mental note to mention that to Weiss and Ruby.

Weiss and Ruby.

Yang inhaled through her nose, watching the woman enter the store, barely lit by the sunlight streaming in from the holes in the roof. Weiss had said that the woman was one of Taurus’ closest followers. If she was here, was Taurus here too? Was Cinder? Were Weiss and Ruby walking into a trap without her?

As soon as the woman was out of the building, she had to run to them. The rain had started, but the storm hadn’t hit yet – if they traveled through it, they might be able to gain enough ground to get out of immediate danger.

Something scraped against a table. Yang’s eyes jerked up, just in time to see the faunus whirl as a ceramic mug toppled from the shelf.

_CRASH_

The two deer spooked, leaping out through the front door. Yang instinctively cringed at the explosion of noise. But her eyes stayed locked on the woman that had jumped backwards, her hand falling to her right hip as she disappeared into the shadows.

Deadly silence followed, so absolute that Yang worried that her own pulse would give her away this time. But she stayed still, her own hand resting on the handle of a gun that belonged to the woman in the shadows.

Long seconds ticked by. She barely noticed them.

A faint scuffle. The faunus emerged, scanning the market with eyes that were significantly larger than before. She turned to look behind her, and Yang caught sight of her right hand.

A knife – a wicked-looking hunting knife, but a knife. Not a gun.

Yang blinked in confusion, watching the once confident and silent woman make a slow, frightened retreat towards the exit. A knife could be useful against a bandit, but it was more likely to get you killed by a Grimm than kill one. So why hadn’t she pulled a gun?

The answer came more from the cool plastic below her own fingertips than her own logic. _She doesn’t have one._

How was that possible? The White Fang wouldn’t have sent an unarmed scout to look for the three of them. Cinder, at the very least, would have let her borrow her rifle for a couple hours.

Unless…

Mouth dry, Yang slowly rolled to her feet as the woman turned, hurrying back towards the doors. She moved around the booth she’d hidden in, keeping low to the ground.

The front doors came into view, and Yang watched as she stepped through the shattered doors, not bothering to pull her hood up against the rain. She bent to yank the socks off her shoes, balling them up in one hand as she approached the tree.

Yang silently followed down the hall, ducking to crouch behind a trash can.

The woman set a knife into the trunk, and swiftly begin to carve into the wood. Yang seen that before. In fact, she’d done it before – marking the trail for the rest of her group, while hunting on her own.

_You’re alone._

Relief washed over her. Then a darker thought occurred to her.

_You wouldn’t be leaving a trail if anyone else knew where we were._

Her back was still to her. Yang’s aim wasn’t the best, but from ten feet away it didn’t matter.

She remembered standing over a motionless body. She remembered the vast pit of regret and guilt that she glimpsed before finding a pulse.

She remembered Cinder’s single eye, ablaze with fury. _“Enjoy your head start, girl. It won’t last long.”_

Her hand moved towards the holster on her own hip. The snap was still in place.

The woman shifted, her knife moving in a circle.

_Cinder can’t find us._

Yang bit her lip, then carefully pried the snap open with her thumb. A tiny, but still audible metallic click split through the air.

One feline ear moved a split second before the rest of the girl’s body jerked.

Yang ducked back behind the trash can before the woman could whirl around, internally spewing profanity. She could try to jump out and attack; the woman would outrun her in seconds. She could take a shot; if she missed, she’d be unarmed.

One footstep. Then many.

Yang got to her feet just in time to see the woman bolt across the empty street, skid around a building corner, and disappear.

Relief. Then, immediately, a wave of frustration and fear swept over her. What if she wasn’t alone? What if she was travelling with the White Fang, and leaving a trail for Cinder to follow them? What if she was racing off to find backup?

For a second, she considered trying to chase her down. But she had no doubt the other woman was faster, more agile, and more than capable of leading her into a trap.

Yang forced herself to inhale as she looked out the door, at the tree trunk.

Three strikes with a circle surrounding them stared back at her, helpfully informing any passing bandits that three targets had been seen inside. There wasn’t an arrow through it – she didn’t know which way they’d gone. Underneath, barely visible from her distance away, were a small pair of upright peaks, like cat ears. A signature of sorts – Yang’s was a crude drawing of a burning heart, Ruby was a flower, and Weiss was a snowflake.

Yang grabbed her own knife from her belt and took a step towards the door, intending to scrape the marker away entirely, or at least alter it.

She paused.

The woman hadn’t seen Yang. She might not know that her prey had caught on to her. 

Ruby had told her that Cinder had shielded the slim faunus from Taurus' wrath when he'd followed them into the subway. She could be working with either one of them. She might have left hundreds of markers, or maybe she'd only just caught up and this was the only one.

There was only one person who knew for sure. And if she really was alone, she had no choice but to follow them before the rain washed their tracks away.

Yang slowly backed up, looking down at the tracks in the dusty floor. She, Weiss, and Ruby had come in the same way – it was impossible to tell which of Yang’s tracks were new and which were old on the scuffed floor.

She kept within the scuffed trail as she moved back towards the booth, grabbing her bag off the floor. Following the same path along the wall, she moved towards the door and quickly shoved her way through it, pulling her own hood up as she closed it as quietly as she could manage.

Ruby and Weiss’ tracks were only visible at all if you knew where to look. But the occasional footprints she could see were deep and spaced apart. They’d kept running.

Rain hissed around her, and almost involuntarily, Yang glanced over her shoulder.

For a split second, she thought she saw a shadow passing between the market and a neighboring auto parts store. The sight was gone before she could focus on it, but the quick impression lingered. Slim, quick, stealthy.

She might have caught sight of her. This might all be for nothing.

Yang snapped the holster’s strap back into place and ran alongside their footprints anyways, doing her best to create the illusion that she’d fled with them. But, as she ran, she let her boots sink into the soft ground any place where Weiss or Ruby’s hadn’t, leaving a clear trail behind her.

Her mind turned over the situation, presenting more possibilities, more outcomes. Leaving something for her to follow was a dangerous move. She was on first watch tonight anyways, but if the storm took its time in coming she’d have to stay up longer. If there was no sign of the woman before the worst of the rain started, it would mean she wasn’t alone and she’d gone back to get her group, and Yang would have to get them up and find another place to hide. If she did show up, she’d have to leave one of them on guard and slip out to deal with her.

She shook her head, jumping off a curb and running alongside the street. It wasn’t a fantastic play, but it was the only one she had.

Yang reached the charred, fragmented gas station quickly, and darted across the street into a small, overgrown park. Doing her best to ignore the churning in her gut, she cut through the long grass, eyes up and searching the houses that formed a perimeter around it. _They should be here somewhere._

Yang’s mouth dried. She could have been wrong. Maybe the woman had been a distraction, and-

A warbling birdcall cut through the air.

She turned on her heel, and a sigh with the same force as a deflating balloon escaped her. Weiss waved, nearly hidden behind a hedge, and pushed a wooden gate open.

Yang couldn’t get across the small clearing and through the gate fast enough. “You two okay?” She pulled the latch shut, internally hissing at her shaking fingers.

“Yeah, we’re fine, we found a place that’s clear. Ruby’s gonna try and fall asleep now, she can do second watch.” Weiss kept her voice low, watch Yang with worried eyes as she led the way out of the backyard. “What did you find?”

Yang glanced over her shoulder. No movement, but she could see the scattered trail she’d left.

“Just a loner scavenging.” The lie left her mouth with sickening ease. “Went the opposite way.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Weiss blink and glance back worriedly. “Should we find somewhere else to sleep?”

A bolt of lightning briefly flashed somewhere on the horizon, lighting the dimming neighborhood and making Yang’s excuse much easier to choke out. “No, we’ll just leave a bigger trail. We’ll bunk down for the storm and then figure out a plan in the morning. I’m on first watch anyways, I can keep an eye out for them if they come back.”

Weiss didn’t exactly look comforted. But she turned towards the street, and gestured for her to follow.

Deep down, she knew she should have told her the truth. Weiss knew more about the White Fang, and Ruby’s ability to come up with an air-tight plan out of thin air rivaled even Raven’s.

But there was a reality to the situation that no amount of planning could get them out of.

The moment the faunus knew that Yang was on to her, there was no turning back. Even if she told Yang everything she knew, if she got away, she would go running back to Taurus, or Cinder. Or, worse, she’d keep following at a distance, keep leaving markers, until someone stronger caught up. And when that happened, Yang knew she would wake up with a knife in her throat and the sight of her sister being dragged away by a desperate maniac.

She hadn’t wanted to hurt the woman the first time. She’d hesitated the second time.

The slim woman with tired eyes wasn’t going to walk away from their third encounter.

Weiss probably would agree with her, given her history with the White Fang. Ruby probably wouldn’t protest, at least not out loud. But all three of them would have to live with their actions, and Yang knew it would eat at them both.

She remembered the moment of horror and regret, when she’d looked down and thought she’d accidentally killed her opponent in a moment of desperation.

But it had to be done. Even if they were angry at her for her actions, they wouldn’t have to live with the guilt of needing to put aside their humanity to survive.

 _Raven would be so proud._ Yang bitterly thought to herself as she followed Weiss up the walkway to a small house with boarded-up windows, leaving a single footprint along the edge of the ditch.


	3. Deadly Dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say about this one except that my local weather picked an excellent time to have a cluster of severe thunderstorms. It's nice to write in the actual situation you're trying to describe!
> 
> As always, feedback adored and typo hunting is appreciated!! Do enjoy <3

A flash of lightning lit her watch. Ten forty-five, and no sign of the cat-eared girl yet.

Thunder rumbled above her. Yang forced herself to take a deep breath and turned her gaze back to the dark street outside. To Weiss and Ruby’s credit, they knew how to choose a house. The home sat in the corner of a street, letting Yang look straight down the road ahead. The boarded-up bay windows gave her the ability to sit right against the glass, watching the street outside from a wide field of view. The storm looked far more violent than it really was. So far, the rain had been heavy, but not heavy enough erase their tracks, and supplied endless sheet lightning and only low thunder. The light was inconsistent, but bright enough to easily keep track of their surroundings.

Though, as usual, suspicion and worry drowned out any optimism Yang might have had. Maybe the lightning had forced the girl to move with more stealth, and Yang just hadn’t seen her approach. Or maybe she wasn’t alone after all.

 _It’s not raining as hard as you thought it would._ She reminded herself. _She’s probably waiting it out. Let Weiss get a few more hours before you wake her up in a panic._

Yang glanced over her shoulder. She could barely see the two girls, curled up on blankets in the kitchen. She’d been incredibly lucky that Ruby had already been asleep when they got into the house. Weiss was suspicious enough of her story; Ruby would have seen straight through the lie.

Yang turned her gaze back to the window, moving her right arm with a grimace. She should really take the prosthetic off and let the arm relax. But she had enough to worry about without having to pull the prosthetic back on and re-attach the harness around her shoulder.

The tapping of rain on the roof drew her attention. It seemed… louder.

She blinked, attention suddenly focused on the window. Then she gave a sigh that was more of a groan as she watched hailstones join the rain in pelting the ground. Louder, harder to hear through, and far more difficult to travel in. But, also very difficult to mount an ambush in. Grimm would be forced to seek shelter, and the White Fang – or Cinder – wouldn’t be able to do shit until the hail had passed.

Yang leaned against the window behind her, stretching her legs across the little nook with a low sigh. Finally, a moment of peace.

Lightning flashed outside, and out of habit her eyes darted to the crack in the boards.

She only saw the shadow on the road for a split second. At first, she thought it was a trick of the light.

A second flash of lightning revealed illusion as reality.

Yang’s body went deadly still as she watched the figure race across the street, about five houses away.

Slim. Shorter than her. Head bowed against the rain.

A cluster of lightning flashes made tracking the shadow easy as she darted underneath a tree. Even at a distance, Yang could see how she was huddled against the trunk, scanning the ground. Looking for footprints. The lightning faded, leaving the world outside dark and gloomy, but Yang’s eyes stayed on the spot she’d last seen the woman, waiting for the next flash.

Even if she hadn’t seen the hail coming, she should have turned around and found shelter in one of the houses. Tracking wasn’t worth it in this kind of weather – unless you had no choice.

Yang almost laughed, relief flooding her for a blissful moment. She really was alone.

It didn’t take long to fade as she remembered what, exactly, the girl being alone meant for her.

“So.” Yang’s lungs emptied in a startled exhale, but she didn’t move as Weiss’s voice cut through the hail on the roof, directly behind her ear. “Is that your loner?”

“…looks like it.” It felt odd to speak at full volume, but anything less was drowned out by the hail. She kept her voice steady, desperately hoping that the girl was going to keep her distance and Weiss wouldn’t recognize her. “Why are you up?”

“My supernatural ability to smell bullshit.” Yang had to glance sideways at that. Another cluster of lightning lit Weiss’ half-lidded glare as she hopped onto the bay window. Her white blonde hair fell in uncharacteristically messy waves around her face, having been finally freed from the braid she usually tamed it into.

Yang’s head turned back to the outside world and found the woman in mid-run to the next tree. She realized too late that the faunus’ hood had fallen off her head. A pair of feline ears twitched on top of her head, clear as day, before the world plunged back into darkness.

She could see Weiss turn to look at her. “That’s...”

“Yeah.” Yang’s breath hissed out in a tired exhale. “Yeah. It is.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Despite the hail, Weiss’ voice lowered, panic clear in her tone. “We could have covered some distance before the storm hit!”

“She’s alone, and she’s unarmed.” Yang watched the woman glance up at the houses through the flashes of lightning.

Something was wrong. Her head was low, her steps unsteady. Almost like she was half-asleep. Yang’s gut painfully twisted as the girl stumbled over a slab of broken asphalt, barely catching herself. The easier it would be to overpower her, the harder it was going to be to-

Weiss’ voice mercifully cut off her train of thought. “Do you think the two guys in the pharmacy tipped her off?”

They almost certainly had, she realized, remembering the apple. The timing was a little too convenient. But she didn’t voice that thought – Weiss had seemed to warm up to the funny blonde with the tail. She needed to have at least _one_ decent experience with a faunus. “Maybe, but I don’t think so.”

Another flash. She couldn’t see the girl’s face well, but she could see the way her shoulders heaved in defeat. She was turning around, surveying the houses around her instead of searching the ground.

Yang glanced over at her companion. _Well, she knows now. May as well take advantage of it._ “You know her?”

“Sort of. She’s part of the White Fang. I’d seen her before then – always seems to be with him.” Weiss’ voice cracked very slightly as she moved to sit cross-legged on the nook. “Did she see you at the market?”

“No, but she definitely saw us while we were scavenging. Left a marker on the tree outside.” Yang bit her lip. She already knew the answer, but confirmation wouldn’t hurt. “Do you think Taurus would wait to attack us, if he knew where we were?”

Weiss’ eyebrows fell. “…no. He wouldn’t. I don’t know if Cinder would either.”

“She definitely wouldn’t.” Dread settled into the pit of Yang’s stomach she caught another glimpse of the woman approaching a house four doors down from their own.

The same flash of lightning lit Weiss’ face, eyes now focused on Yang. “…I know her name if you-”

“No. I don’t want to know.”

Silence filled the little nook, and Yang knew that Weiss had figured out the plan.

Yang stood, staunchly ignoring the way her stomach threatened to empty its contents. “Stay here. I haven’t seen any sign of anyone else, but she could still be a distraction. I’m gonna go now, while she can’t hear me coming.”

“Yang.” She hadn’t expected Weiss to speak, and she turned. The smaller woman was just barely lit by the candlelight, but she could see the way she’d bit her lip. “Adam Taurus doesn’t need more reasons to hunt us down.”

“I’d rather he not have a way to find us.” But she stopped. Weiss was the last person in the world that she would have expected to try and talk her out of it, and something about the quiet tone caught Yang’s attention. “…she’s his right-hand woman, right?”

“The other girl is more his right-hand woman in the sense you’re thinking. This one is…” Weiss grimaced. “…well. His girlfriend, for lack of a better term.”

 _…oh. Fuck._ Yang stared at her for a long moment, gut uncomfortably flipping back and forth. “Didn’t you say he was bitching about her ruining the plan in the subway?”

“I didn’t say it was a healthy relationship." Weiss lifted her hands in a tired shrug. "Look, it’s not like we have much choice anyways. But… maybe make it look like a Grimm snuck up on her?”

Yang rubbed her face, groaning under her breath. Not exactly the answer she was looking for, but it would do. “…okay. I’ll see what I can do.” She turned, tiredly plodding towards the back door.

Over the hail on the roof, she didn’t hear Weiss move. But she saw a flash of white-blonde hair move between the kitchen and living room, and she paused, watching.

A backpack rustled, then Weiss turned back around the corner, their lone flashlight in one hand. “Take this, and signal me if you need help. Plus, uh. Her eyes are sensitive. I tried to blind her in the subway, but she snuck up on me too fast.”

Yang took it as it was outstretched to her. She already knew she wasn’t going to need help.

Weiss seemed to know it too, her eyes falling in the dim light. “…I’m sorry. It should be me doing this, not you, this isn’t your fi-“

Yang’s prosthetic arm pulled her into a hug, cutting off the sentence. “Don’t apologize. She made a choice to follow us, she was there in the subway. She knew we weren’t going to come quietly. This isn’t on you.” She wasn’t sure if she was comforting herself or Weiss.

A moment of silence followed, broken by a voice that was muffled from being pressed into her shoulder. “…we need to find one more person if you’re gonna keep taking things on by yourself. You need someone to trade you off. It’s not fair that it’s all on you.”

Deep down, Yang knew she was right. It wasn’t that Ruby or Weiss couldn’t fight, or scout. But letting either of them leave her sight for longer than a moment was already enough to send her into panic, let alone one of them going off on their own. And finding a fourth person that she could actually trust was about as likely as finding a unicorn in the scarred wasteland around them.

But the only two options were to make a joke about it or admit that she was beginning to fall apart at the seams. So Yang loosened her grip with a low snort. “Want me to ask her if she’s interested in a job?”

Weiss rolled her eyes as she pulled away. “Go for it. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.”

“Will do.” Yang forced a smile onto her face, shoving down her own rising anxiety as the reality of what she was about to do set in. “If you need help, fire Ruby’s rifle once. If I need help, I’ll flash the light once. Okay?”

Lightning flashed again, and Weiss’ face came into sharp relief. Anxious, guilty, worried, but she gave a single sharp nod. “Good luck.”

Yang turned and slipped out the door before she could stop herself. She pulled her hood up, barely noticing as hail pelted her back and shoulders, and ducked through the back fence, following the alley towards the house the woman had headed towards.

She already knew what she was going to tell Weiss when she returned in ten minutes – that Taurus’ girlfriend had attacked and left her with no choice but to use the last bullet in her gun.

All she could do was hope that it would be the truth.

* * *

Blake knew that she’d made several mistakes.

She should have curled up and fallen asleep at her usual time so she could wake up during the night and follow their trail then. But, of course, Hightown market had been too close, the promise of finally catching up too tantalizing to resist. So she’d pushed through, and been rewarded with seeing the trio with her own eyes as they scavenged.

It had been almost surreal, watching Xiao Long step through the doorway, Blake’s gun in hand. A mixture of relief, frustration, and fury had welled up in her chest, clouding logic.

Going into the market had been a terrible idea. But she hadn’t been able to see which way the trio had left. And, secretly, she’d hoped that one had stayed behind to confront her.

Instead, she’d knocked something over and scared the shit out of herself. Then, in the middle of carving out a quick marker, she’d heard a tiny metallic click, and that had been enough to send her running.

She’d tried to sleep in the auto body shop she’d fled to. But, of course, with the promise of success so close, and the fear of their tracks washing away so real, she’d done the worst possible thing she could have done – she’d stayed still for too long, hoping for sleep that never came, then finally panicked as the storm got worse and set out after them.

So here she was, four hours into her six-hour sleep allowance, getting pelted by hail and following footprints that she knew were far too obvious.

The overgrown neighborhood had plenty of trees and shrubs to hide behind, at least. But the unpredictable flashes of lightning above her seemed to wait until she was in the middle of the road to flash, leaving her completely visible to the windows around her. Still, she tried to follow the footprints, keeping as close to the overgrown trees and shrubs as she could.

Wind pushed her hood off her head again, and this time Blake didn’t bother trying to fix it. Lightning flashed above her, the thunder that followed almost too low to hear, but loud enough to painfully vibrate in the depths of her eardrums.

The breaking point was a stumble over a broken slab of asphalt. Blake barely caught herself in time, and realized her eyes had been closed as she walked.

 _Enough. Get inside, sleep._ They weren’t going anywhere in the hail either, and they had to be in the neighborhood somewhere.

She turned, exhaustedly surveying the houses around her. The one directly to her left was small and the windows had been blown out, but the roof looked sturdy. She started towards it, keeping her head down and pulling her hood back over her ears.

The front door had been left ajar, darkness waiting inside. Blake pulled her knife out of its sheath as she stepped into the entryway, blinking away her exhaustion. A door to the basement had been left open, revealing a dark stairway.

Even in an exhausted state, she knew better than to think she was safe. She hadn’t seen any Grimm, but they could be taking shelter inside – and if they were, they would be in the basement. To make matters worse, she couldn’t hear a damn thing over the cacophony of hail hitting the roof. If any Grimm were below, she wasn’t going to hear them until they came racing up the stairs.

Blake set her jaw and forced herself to climb up the short flight of stairs to the main floor. It would be easier to leap through a window on the main floor if something came for her.

A kitchen and living room filled up most of the space, furniture overturned and broken. Rain and hail bounced in from the window, effectively stopping any interest she might have had in sleeping in either space.

She turned to her left, and made her way down the narrow hallway that extended along the remaining space. The first door was still functional enough to open and close, the small bathroom behind it surprisingly pristine. Both bedroom doors, on the other hand, had been broken down and the rooms completely trashed. With a wince of distaste, Blake lowered herself to the ground to check underneath the shredded beds, but found nothing but dust and dirt.

As Blake pushed herself back up to her feet, the temptation to stumble into the bathroom, close the door, and fall asleep in the tub was overwhelming. But, unfortunately, she’d cleared the upper floor. Which meant that either there was nothing in the basement below, or whatever was down there was smart enough to wait for her to fall asleep.

The hail only seemed to be getting worse as she plodded back down the stairs to the entryway. After a moment of thought, she closed the basement door behind her but didn’t completely pull it shut; she would hear the hinges creak if someone followed her. At least there was more than enough light for her eyes to see, even if her mind wasn’t moving as fast as it should be.

Blake gripped the handle of the knife as she reached the bottom of the stairs. But, to her surprise and relief, what would have been a basement suite was nothing more than a concrete floor, bare unfinished walls, and the reek of mold. It had clearly flooded at some point, leaving behind rotting boards and scattered insulation.

But nothing moved as she slowly scanned across the concrete pit. The hail was slightly muffled here, allowing her to appreciate the silence around her.

Her eyes closed as she sighed. It was far, far too hard to open them again.

Climbing the stairs again was also far harder than it should have been. She staggered, nearly catching the knife on her own thigh. Anxiety began to knot her stomach as she stopped, forcing herself to holster the knife. She really had pushed herself too hard.

Even with her internal debate, the exhaustion pressing in on her, and the thunderous hail on the roof above her, she heard the metallic ‘clunk’ of a deadbolt.

Blake’s body stopped dead, one hand still on the wall, and stared at the door four steps above her.

She couldn’t hear anything but hail pounding on the roof. But the light that should have been streaming through the cracks from the open front door was gone.

A Grimm wouldn’t close a door behind it.

Adrenaline flooded her body, kicking her mind back into high gear and brightening the wooden staircase around her.

Even with her hearing muffled, though, the floor above her was too silent. A scavenger would be following her motions, clearing the floor above before moving in to check the basement. Even through the hail, she would have heard the stairs creak.

The basement windows would take too long to open. But the windows upstairs were broken.

Blake took one step, letting the stair creak under her shoe. Then another.

Her eyes caught the tiniest shift of light underneath the door. Like someone had moved behind it.

With a sharp inhale, she sprinted up the last two stairs and slammed into the ajar door with all the weight in her body.

The door collided with something solid, and a sharp yelp split the air. Blake leapt past, eyes wide. The front door was closed, cutting off the first escape route.

She turned and scrambled up the stairs, heart slamming into her ribs. Cursing, then heavy footsteps followed her.

Blake hit the top of the stairs at a dead run. No one was in the living room. The broken window yawned open, promising salvation.

Her backpack’s straps cut into her shoulders, nearly wrenching her off her feet. A strangled cry left her throat, and Blake was hauled backwards, towards the bathroom she’d planned to sleep in.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of golden hair.

Ferocity overwhelmed fear.

Blake let the backpack fall off her shoulders, whirled, pulled her knife, and-

Blindingly bright light shone into her face a split second before she heard a flashlight click.

Pain erupted behind her eyes. The scream that left her mouth was halfway between pain and fear, fully aware of the danger but unable to stop herself from recoiling, her eyes clamping shut.

Metal collided with her chest, sending her stumbling backwards. Her shoes squeaked on a tile floor, echoing off the narrow walls.

Even from behind her closed eyelids and the arm thrown across her face, she could see the bright light of the flashlight, still trained on her.

“Drop the knife.” The voice was low and familiar.

“Drop the light first.” She hissed, feeling tears gathering at the corners of her aching eyes

A pause. Then the light moved. “It’s down. Now drop it.”

Blake dared open one eye, still wincing

Black spots swam across her vision. The flashlight had been placed on the counter, pointing up at the ceiling. Light bounced across the ceiling, lighting the small room and bouncing off the woman less than three feet in front of her.

Taller than her, with broader shoulders. Golden hair cascaded over a worn, soaked leather jacket. The metal of her right hand glinted in the pale blue light, while her left pointed Blake’s gun at the center of her chest.

The woman that Cinder had called Yang Xiao Long stared back at her, lilac eyes burning into her with as much ferocity as the flashlight.

She considered jumping forwards, trying to grab the gun before she could fire it.

As if reading her mind – or perhaps just her eyes – the human’s eyes narrowed. Blake’s gut twisted. She knew firsthand just how viciously the woman protected her family.

Her knife clattered to the tile below.

“Kick it to me.”

Her teeth gritted. But she gave it a single kick, sliding it across the floor towards her. Xiao Long neatly swept the knife out the door with her foot. Blake caught a glimpse of her backpack, resting outside the door in a forlorn heap, before the door was kicked shut.

Xiao Long’s eyes never left hers as she stepped sideways. Her prosthetic hand awkwardly gripped the little latch above the door handle, and slid it into place.

The edge of the tub pressed against her calves. The counter was bare of anything she could use as a weapon. There was no window to jump through, no vent to crawl into.

Xiao Long took a single step forward. The room shrunk.

“One more step, and I’ll break your fingers.” The snarl vibrated deep in her chest. Xiao Long could pull the trigger before she could reach her, but that didn’t guarantee she could kill her with one shot. And if locking a door was awkward, she was willing to bet the fingers on the metal hand couldn’t pull a trigger.

Her eyes flicked up and down Blake once. Blake watched, silent, as the woman slowly inhaled through her noise, and the expressionless face began to crack into something that almost looked pained. “Answer my questions, and I won’t hurt you.”

Blake’s heartbeat was still jumping like she was running for her life, contrasting with the way her body had gone deadly still. “Unlikely.”

An eyebrow raised. “Unlikely that you’ll answer? Or unlikely that I won’t hurt you?”

“The latter.” She let her ears flatten against her head.

“So you’re willing to talk, then.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really.” The lilac eyes examined her for a moment longer before she spoke again. “Why are you here?”

“Trying to sleep.” She’d said be honest, not be clear.

Her head tilted down slightly, and Blake’s pulse skipped a beat as the woman’s face suddenly became about twice as threatening as it already was. Her voice rolled out, low like thunder. “I’m not feeling real patient right now. Tell me why you’re following us, and then tell me how many more are with you.”

The full gravity of the situation finally pulled on her. Xiao Long would probably kill her the second she had the answers she needed. But if even if she didn’t, Cinder probably would when she caught up.

There was only one way to possibly escape, and it was to convince Xiao Long that she wasn’t a threat.

It took all the force in her body to drop her eyes to the floor, and let her shoulders rise. Her stomach churned, but she knew the submissive sort of posture worked. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I’m alone.” Not technically a lie, but not exactly the truth either.

A disbelieving snort. “You had both Taurus and Fall on your side last I saw you. And now suddenly your only option is to follow us?”

Blake shrugged, mouth dry. “Long story.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the blonde human leaned against the door, gun still raised. “Neither of us are going anywhere.”

That wasn’t comforting. Blake inhaled, steeling herself as she glanced down at the gun. “If that’s the case, mind getting my own damn gun out of my face?”

Something flickered behind the girl’s eyes. Then, to Blake’s surprise, the barrel lowered. Xiao Long stared her dead in the eye as she shifted her weight to sit on the counter, still between Blake and the door. “If I have to lift it again, it’ll because I’m about to pull the trigger. Understand?”

With the gun down, the adrenaline seeping into her blood began to ebb. Exhaustion began to seep into her mind, slowing her thoughts. Blake blinked it back as she warily nodded, slowly sinking down to sit on the edge of the tub.

“Good. Now talk.”

Easier said than done. The storm outside sounded like it had eased, hail fading into rain and allowing true silence to stretch between them. Blake's lack of words had nothing to do with defiance, her slowing mind struggling to voice the right parts of the story. “Not much to tell. I failed to bring both Rose and Schnee back. Both Taurus and Fall were pissed. Lucky I wasn’t shot right on the stop.”

One of Xiao Long’s knees came up, resting her chin on it. “I could believe half of that. But, considering Fall threw Taurus off your trail and then helped you get back up the stairs…” She raised her eyebrows.

 _Wait._ Blake desperately sorted through her own memories, wondering if she’d misremembered the order of events. Xiao Long hadn’t been there when she’d woken up. Adam had gone after her. How did she know Cinder had helped her? They couldn’t have overheard it, unless…

Realization dawned on her as she stared at the warrior perched on the bathroom counter. “You never left the station. You just hid and waited for us to leave.”

A smug smile played at one corner of the human’s lips. Then she straightened with a short exhale. “Back to the point. So, Cinder saved your ass from Taurus so she could just… threaten to kill you herself?”

Blake’s ears laid flat against her head. She’d already gotten caught trying to mislead her with half the truth. No sense in trying to push her luck. “No.” She reluctantly growled. “She wanted me to be her personal hound dog, and chase you all down.”

Xiao Long’s eyes stayed locked on her, but the gun didn’t lift. “Why you?”

A smile of her own finally found her lips. “I found you, didn’t I?”

Her eyebrows quirked. “Fair enough.” The blonde’s chin rested on her knee again. “Was the marker you left at the market for Fall?”

She had seen it. She’d already known Blake was leaving a trail. “So that was you.”

“Yeah.” Xiao Long’s eyes bit into her. “Answer the question.”

Blake’s heart pounded a rhythm against her chest, as though trying to preform its own death march. “Yes.” She muttered.

She could see the subtle shift in Xiao Long’s shoulders, the way her hand twitched very slightly. “Who else knows where we are?”

Deep down, she knew her mind should be racing, trying to figure out what to say, trying to save herself from the very real danger sitting on the counter a few feet away.

But the reality was, Blake was exhausted from more than just the past day. She’d spent months running on little more than scraps of food and anger, biting her tongue, going along with what she’d been told because there wasn’t a choice. She was running out fuel.

The words slipped from her lips as she leaned sideways against the cold tile wall. “Only me.”

“How long will it take Fall to find those markers?” The lilac eyes staring back at her were hard and unmoving, but they weren’t angry. If anything, Xiao Long looked exactly as tired as she felt.

“I don’t…” She closed her eyes in an attempt to focus, letting herself lean back a bit. Cinder had come by two – no. Three days ago. “Four days. Maybe more.”

Her thoughts drifted. Sun and Neptune knew she’d gone to Hightown. But they weren’t expecting her to return anytime soon, they weren’t going to come looking for her. Adam and Ilia had no idea where she was. No one was going to find that marker before Cinder did.

Xiao Long’s voice reached her, but it sounded far away. She should open her eyes.

She could feel her head drifting, like a boat tied on too long of a line. Maybe it was better this way. She wouldn’t be aware of it happening.

Cool tile slid against her cheek.

Loud noise. Blake’s eyes shot open exactly as a fist clamped down on the front of her shirt.

Memories came faster than reality. Blake’s hands clamped down on the attacking arm, gasping in sudden panic, kicking ou-

Her right hip slammed against into something hard and cold. The world snapped back into focus.

Xiao Long’s fist was locked on the left collar of Blake’s shirt. The hard, expressionless face was gone; her eyes had gone wide, cheeks flushed, mouth slightly open.

It took a moment for Blake to see ceiling above them and feel cold porcelain against her back, and realize she’d toppled backwards into the tub. Her knees still rested up on the ledge she’d been sitting on, her torso twisted from Xiao Long holding one side of it up.

Her nails had dug into Xiao Long’s forearm. Without thinking, her fingers relaxed, exposing reddened dents in the flesh.

Xiao Long blinked at the movement. Then, as suddenly as though Blake had thrown a switch, the human's body went still. Her expression cleared. Her mouth closed. Her jaw tightened.

The hand on her shirt slowly lowered, and Blake’s head harmlessly thunked against the hard, unforgiving edge of the tub behind her.

Her mouth went dry. She didn’t need to wonder what would have happened if Xiao Long hadn’t caught her. The cold contact left nothing to the imagination.

Blake watched in stunned silence as the human released her completely and backed away. A hand came up, running through blonde hair. Something like desperation flitted past her face.

Then, in a terrifying flurry of motion, Xiao Long pulled the gun and aimed it directly into the center of her chest.

In the six years Blake had spent living in the ruins of society, her life had been threatened many times. Sometimes it was out of desperation, sometimes blood lust, and sometimes just to scare her. But they had all taught her how to read a threatening face.

Someone who wasn’t prepared to actually pull the trigger would have an unfocused look – probably because they were convincing themselves to follow through, or comforting themselves. Someone who was outright bluffing would be panicked and tense, even if you could only see it in the tiny corners of their eyes.

But someone who knew exactly what they were capable of would be still and relaxed. They didn’t need to explain their actions. They didn’t need to be afraid. They would simply lift the gun and pull the trigger without blinking.

Or, at least she’d thought they would. Until now.

Blake’s gun was deadly steady. Xiao Long’s eyes stared into the exact center of hers. Her body was still but not tense. She wasn’t having an internal debate; she wasn’t convincing herself that the faunus that had been following them needed to die. She was perfectly capable of pulling the trigger.

Yet, she hadn’t.

The sound of the rain outside had faded away. Light bounced off the cracked tiles, the rusted metal faucets, the dull surface of the gun.

The reality was, if Xiao Long genuinely wanted to kill her, she should have let Blake fall. If the blow to the back of the head hadn’t finished the job for her, she could have convinced herself that she was doing the injured woman a kindness by shooting her. Bleeding to death alone was not the way anyone wanted to die.

But she’d jumped to help her instead.

The dark circles under her eyes seemed to deepen. Her eyes dulled.

Xiao Long was simply tired, and being kind came easier to her than being ruthless. She was just gathering her energy. In a minute, or a second, she would gather enough resolve, pull the trigger, and Blake would be gone.

She didn’t have much time. But she did have time.

Blake kept her gaze focused on the middle of the woman’s eyes, staring straight through to the soul beneath, and inhaled.

Xiao Long’s eyes hardened, Blake’s heart stopped, but her hoarse voice had already split through the air. “I’ll bargain.”

The lilac eyes blinked.

Blake’s voice continued, shaking in the stillness around them. “I can’t go back to the White Fang. Cinder isn’t going to give me another second chance. When I said I have nowhere to go, I meant it.”

Xiao Long still hadn’t moved. But something had shifted in the eyes – she was still staring at Blake, but not directly into her eyes. She was looking very slightly to the left, as though a thought had occurred to her.

Rain hissed on the roof above her. Thunder boomed, somewhere far away. Blake didn’t dare move, think, or breathe. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Adam’s voice burst into laughter at the plea.

The gun lowered.

Relief flooded her, but Blake didn’t dare move as the human holstered the gun, gaze still locked on her. For a long moment, Xiao Long just stared down at her. Somehow, she looked even more exhausted than before.

She took a step forward. Blake tensed, waiting for her to pull a knife instead.

The red marks from Blake’s fingernails were still obvious on her forearm as Xiao Long extended her arm, hand open.

Her hand closed on Blake's arm as Blake's closed on hers. Her grip tightened, slowly pulling her up and out of the tub with ease.

Blake didn’t realize her legs were shaking until she’d gotten completely to her feet, and Xiao Long’s hand finally released her. She set her jaw, trying to ignore it, keeping her eyes locked on the human.

The woman took one step back, letting Blake have a small amount of space. “I’ve got one more question first.”

She snorted tonelessly. “Of course you do.”

Something twitched in the woman’s face. But it was gone before she could appreciate it. “What’s in it for you if you catch us?”

Blake blinked. “I didn’t have much choice.”

The lilac eyes stayed on her. “There must have been something.”

It didn’t really matter, did it? At worst, she was dead anyways.

“If I help Cinder Fall track down Rose, she’ll help me disappear.” She bit back the part about bringing Schnee to Adam. It hadn’t been part of the deal anyways.

Xiao Long blinked, as though taken aback “…you could just run off.”

Blake looked away, voice falling to a mutter. “I had a head wound and I was in the middle of downtown Vale. I wouldn’t have made it three days before-” She cut herself off. No more. Xiao Long didn’t deserve to know the inner workings of her mind.

She could feel Xiao Long’s eyes boring into her. Silence stretched between them, and Blake finally looked up, waiting for whatever deal she was going to try to make.

The woman opened her mouth, then seemed to hesitate. Closed it again, her eyebrows furrowing. Her voice was quiet, but firm when she spoke. “I have an offer. There's only going to be one - no negotiating, no meeting halfway. If you're going to take it, you're taking it exactly the way it is.”

Blake gave a single nod, steeling herself. “I’m listening.”

The human seemed to be settling her own nerves, inhaling and biting her lip before continuing. “Short version is, we’re going to help each other disappear. You said you were the only one that’s found us – if that was true, then we should be a step ahead. You help me cover our tracks, you help me scout ahead, and you help me keep Grimm and any other threats we encounter at bay. In return, I’ll let you scavenge with us, and if you’re threatened, we will help you. Once we hit the edge of the city, we part ways or we re-negotiate. If you start leaving markers again, or I get even the slightest hint that you’re helping any of your old buddies again, deal’s off. And you stay twenty feet away from Ruby and Weiss. I catch you coming any closer, for any reason, and the deal’s off. Understand?”

It wasn’t a bad deal, really. The three girls had been incredibly hard even for Blake to track. She was further away from Adam than she’d ever been, and even Cinder only had her markers to follow her with. But Blake still hesitated, watching the human carefully. “I’m assuming that ‘deal’s off’ means ‘I die’.”

Xiao Long didn’t blink. “If the deal’s off, it means that you’re as big of a threat to me as a Grimm, Cinder, or your boyfriend.”

Blake flinched, her eyes sliding away before she could stop them.

If Cinder caught up tomorrow, she would be angry, but Blake would probably be able to convince her that this would work in her favor. She might be able to escape the worst of her wrath.

If Adam did, there would be no explaining the fact she was helping a Schnee.

Deep in the pit of her stomach, something coiled into a tight, terrified ball.

“Do we have a deal?”

Her eyes flicked up and found Yang Xiao Long waiting. Her eyes were suspicious, they were hardened, but they were devoid of any anger or malice. No desire for vengeance, or power – just survival.

She was tired of bargaining for her life. But at least this was with someone who didn’t seem to have any hidden intentions.

This time, Blake offered her own hand – the left, not her dominant right. If she was putting her life on the line, she wanted to at least shake a flesh and blood hand over it.

The hand that gripped it was rough and callused, but warm. Blake hoped that was any indication of the soul behind the hardened eyes as she shook the hand, then released it.

The lilac eyes wavered slightly. “…Weiss tried to tell me what your name was. I didn’t want to know. I do now.”

Of course Schnee had found out what her name was. She'd probably been the one that had told her what was going on between her and Adam. Not that it mattered much if she lied anyways. “Blake. Cinder told me your name was Yang Xiao Long.”

Xiao Long’s eyebrows quirked. “Did she?”

Exhaustion was nipping at her, fraying her temper. “I don’t really care if she lied to me or not, I just need to know what name to yell if I need to get your attention.” She snapped.

Her gut painfully contracted as she realized that, perhaps, biting the hand holding a gun wasn’t the best idea.

Instead, the blonde head tilted, and something that looked almost like amusement crossed her face. “She didn’t lie to you; Yang works.”

Blake rubbed her face, fully aware of Yang’s eyes on her and not completely trusting that she hadn’t been offended by the lapse in temper. “Great.”

A short, soft exhale. “…I’ll give your stuff back and leave. You sleep here, I’ll come back around nine, we make it look like this ended badly for you, then we start moving. Any questions?”

She almost said no. But her eyes had caught on the familiar gun, still resting in an ill fitting holster.

Blake set her jaw, and met Yang’s gaze one more time. “Just one. How do I convince you to give me my gun back?”

Yang blinked. Her brows lowered.

“It’s the only thing that’s actually mine.” _Don’t tell her this_ , the back of her mind hissed. Blake shoved it down anyways. "I don't care if you take the bullets and leave me with an empty gun. I just want it back."

Yang’s expression slowly softened. She sighed, and Blake saw the exhaustion seep back into her features. “If you can find something else that I can fire and reload with one hand, it’s all yours.”

 _Oh._ Blake blinked at the realization that Yang had held onto the gun for a reason. She hadn’t been able to find anything to replace it even for herself, though, and the chances of finding something else…

Neptune had said there was an ammunition store nearby.

She nodded, biting her lip. “I might know a place.”

“Cool. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” The blonde woman turned, and opened the door.

For a moment, Blake considered just rushing past her and disappearing into the night.

She’d be running back into a storm, exhausted and with three humans that knew she’d been following them. It would get harder to follow them. She’d lose them again. And, as much as she didn’t want to admit it… it was nice to deal with someone who wasn’t hyper focused on some kind of goal besides their own survival.

Yang kept one eye on her as she grabbed Blake’s backpack off the ground outside the door, and placed it on the counter. Then, with a note of hesitation, she extended the knife, holding it by the handle.

Blake took it carefully, stowing it away in its sheath.

When she looked up, Yang Xiao Long had turned away, grabbing the flashlight off the counter. She kept the beam pointed up, keeping the bathroom lit without shining it at Blake as she glanced at her one more time. “…night.”

“Night.” Blake muttered back, and watched as the human turned and left the bathroom, heading down the stairs and out the door.

As she left, Blake heard a faint, exhausted mutter. “Weiss is gonna kill me.”

And then she was gone, and Blake was left standing in the small, dark room, wondering just how the hell she’d ended up in this mess to begin with. She wasn’t going to find any answers tonight, she quickly realized. Exhaustion flooded her as the illusion of safety crept back. Blake turned and carefully navigated back into the bathtub. She threw her backpack down, rested her head on it, and wearily closed her eyes.

Of course, even in her exhausted state, the stress of the past few minutes still swirled. She could turn around and come back in the night, while Blake was asleep.

Or Adam could.

Even that wasn’t enough to keep her awake for long. Blake drifted like a boat with a cut tether, and quickly sunk into unconsciousness.


	4. Witty Little Women

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, I'm not dead!  
> My apologies for the long delay, and more apologies because it will take 3-4 weeks for the next chapter to drop as well - I'm participating in the Bumbleby Big Bang, which means I'm working on a secret, different fic that will be posted in November. It also means I have to meet deadlines, and we all know how well I do with those.  
> On the bright side - the extra time I took means that I managed to get the rough draft of the next chapter done! I'm going to be focusing on said secret fic for the next few weeks while I get it to where it needs to be, but I have the next chapter all ready to be edited, and work on the next one, as soon as I get a breather from that project.
> 
> Thank you guys so much for sticking with me!! I promise I'm being very productive in the background, and the next chapter will be dropping as soon as I can bring it to you. <3 I hope you all enjoy the efforts of the past few weeks! I can tell you that this one definitely gave me far more trouble than the previous 3, but I'm quite happy with how it came out in the end <3
> 
> You may also notice that the fic title has changed! We dropped 'the', simply because I think 'Concrete Trail' sounds better and I get to make the rules.
> 
> As always, feedback is adored and relished!! But today, rather than offering a bounty on typos, I offer you [the mother of all typos](https://spinedog.tumblr.com/post/627838829852852224/show-chapter-archive) \- fun fact, sometimes I'll try to type with my eyes closed because I want to get things done but my body wants to sleep. I think my body won that particular round.

Yang was faintly aware of low voices near her. She kept her eyes closed, content to stay still, fade back into sleep.

Any hope of that disappeared with a low creak, and a sudden blinding light attack on her face.

She curled, trying to block the assaulting light with a forearm that didn’t exist, one eye peeling open as she growled. “Fuckin’ hell, leave me a-“

A pair of half-lidded blue eyes met hers. “Your eight-thirty wake-up call, ma’am.”

Reality hit her as violently as the sunlight. Yang sat up with a mutter that was more for show than actual drowsiness, blinking as she took in the sunlight streaming through the newly revealed window.

Ruby dropped the blackout blind she’d held up, the comic she must have just been reading still in her other hand, wincing apologetically. Weiss, however, was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her. Her hair had already been tamed back into its braid, and somehow it just made her look more dangerous. “So. How’d it go?”

She hadn’t exactly told Weiss much when she’d stumbled back into the house last night; she hadn’t had the energy to even understand what had happened, let alone explain it. Truth be told, she still didn’t. But Weiss’ narrowed eyes didn’t leave a lot of room for negotiating.

Yang rubbed her face and reached for the prosthetic arm she’d left beside her sleeping roll. “…better than expected.”

Behind Weiss, she saw Ruby raise her eyebrows, stowing the comic book back into her bag. She didn’t voice disapproval, of course, but the worry was written plain across her eyebrows.

Reluctantly, Yang added, “She’s alive.”

Ruby’s eyes completely closed as she leaned forwards on the chair. As stoic as Weiss tried to be, Yang saw the split second of relief before it was swallowed by disbelief, “…and this is a good thing?”

“I hope so.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Yang couldn’t resist shooting her a half smile over her shoulder she stood, stretched, and headed towards the back pack she’d left on the counter. “You were the one saying we needed one more person last night.”

Watching Weiss’ jaw drop was almost worth the verbal explosion that followed it. “You HIRED her? Are you INSANE?”

Ruby, on the other hand, looked far more intrigued than incredulous. “How’d you pull that off?”

Yang hooked her stump arm into one of the backpack’s straps, lifting the hand holding her prosthetic arm to count the answers off on her fingers. “Yes, probably, and give me ten seconds to get dressed first.”

“Go for it,” Ruby replied before Weiss could even open her mouth. There was a focus to her gaze that was something more functional than curiosity.

Yang waved her arm in something of a salute, hefted the backpack onto her shoulder, then turned towards the tiny bathroom across the hall.

The moment the door closed her weight flopped forwards onto the counter, the prosthetic arm thinking onto its surface. Her need for isolation had nothing to do with modesty; all three of them had gotten changed in front of each other plenty of times.

No, she needed a moment to figure out just what the hell had happened last night.

As she mindlessly set to the task of changing out of the oversized sports bra and shorts that she slept in, Yang’s brain began to turn over the events from last night over. She’d expected a ferocious, desperate assassin that would force her to use deadly force.

Another bathroom, barely lit by a flashlight pointed up to the ceiling, flashed past Yang’s eyes. A slender woman in a bathtub. _“I’ll bargain.”_

She’d almost pulled the trigger. She still wasn’t sure if she should have.

Yang’s head came up and found her own reflection in the cracked mirror. Marks littered her bare torso; some were temporary, others were permanent. Dark skin circled her eyes.

“Summer.” Her voice wasn’t even a whisper. “If you can hear me, I… I need help.” Her jaw clenched, inhaling to fight the stinging beginning in her eyes. “Just… just keep an eye on me for a few days. Make sure I don’t fuck up.”

Raven used to say prayer was just false hope in a pretty envelope. But Yang had caught her with her head bowed more than once, muttering Summer’s name under her breath.

Lilac eyes stared back as Yang watched her face shift from fear to resolve. If the people that had died could still hear her, she’d rather ask them for help anyways. If they couldn’t, false hope was better than no hope at all.

She inhaled, straightened, and picked up her prosthetic arm. She retrieved the thin sock from inside the socket, and carefully rolled it up the stump, navigating the hole at the end so that the exposed metal disc at the end of her limb fit through it. Then Yang set to the ritual of locking the disc into its place at the end of the stump. The routine had become second nature even before the end of the world, but it was still complex enough to trap and collect her thoughts. She found herself focusing on turning the arm back and forth until it caught, then carefully arranging the harness into place, each exhale easier than the last.

By the time she’d finished settling the arm into place and shrugged the harness over her shoulders, the tension had seeped out of the pit of her stomach. As she hunted through her backpack for familiar, comfortable clothing, she paused. Then a low chuckle rose from her chest as she pulled a shirt from the bottom of the bag. If it was going to be an uncomfortable day, she may as well have fun with it.

Her effort wasn’t wasted. Weiss turned as she entered the kitchen, and Yang was immediately rewarded as the blue eyes automatically fell to her front, then slammed shut. “God _dammit_ , Yang.”

“We all have our ways of having fun, Weiss.” Yang rested her elbows on the kitchen counter, fully aware of the cartoonish ramen bowl on her chest, helpfully captioned with ‘send noods’. “Or at least, most of us do.”

Weiss’ only response was to roll her eyes. Behind her, Ruby snickered, but sobered quickly as her eyes turned to Yang. “So. Details. What happened?”

She was glad she’d taken the moment to amuse herself. Yang exhaled and pulled a bag of smoked meat out of her bag. “Snuck up on her in the house, we struggled, ended up using the flashlight trick on her.”

Weiss’ eyebrows rose. “So it really does work.”

Yang stared. “…you were the one who told me to do it.”

“I mean, I knew it would. I just had only actually done it once, and it was on, um…” The smaller woman slowly winced, “…someone with only one eye.”

Yang closed her eyes for a long moment and took the opportunity to take another bite of her breakfast. “Well. It worked. Long story short, I shoved her into a bathroom, got her to drop her knife, and got some information out of her. Cinder sent her to track us, she’s alone, and she’s the only one who knows where we are.”

“You believe her?” Weiss’ voice was as dry as ever, but not dismissive.

Yang thought of the Blake, half asleep against the wall, slowly slipping backwards. She swallowed the jerky, voice coming out as a grunt. “Yeah. Sleep deprived, lost weight, jumpy, and quick to bargain. No one ends up that way by choice.”

Ruby finally spoke up, “Did you offer the bargain?”

“No, she did. I…” The words stuck in her throat. Ruby blinked, the silver eyes stayed on her. “She slipped. I caught her.” The words felt sour coming from her mouth, but she knew better than to lie. “Scared us both. I pulled the gun on her, and she offered a bargain.” There was so much more that had happened, so much more that she’d swept under the rug, but Yang didn’t have it in her to explain it.

She could feel Weiss’ eyes on her, but thankfully she didn’t speak up. Ruby didn’t seem to be interested in examining Yang’s reaction either. “What did she say, exactly?”

That she could answer. “Said she would bargain. The White Fang wouldn’t take her back, Cinder wouldn’t give her a second chance, she had nowhere to go.”

Ruby leaned back, frowning. She glanced at Weiss, sitting silently beside the counter. “…any idea what the White Fang part is about?”

Her frown deepened. “…when my brother was killed, my father blamed the White Fang immediately. I only ever heard anything from them once, and they just kept saying that it wasn’t them. I assumed they were lying, then I figured they were covering for Taurus when he killed my father.” Her tone might have seemed cold to someone who didn’t know Weiss’ family. “Maybe they really didn’t know anything about it. But I have a hard time believing the White Fang wouldn’t take her back.”

Yang tilted her head. “Why?”

“She’s a Belladonna.”

Raven had talked about the White Fang before. She knew that name. “…wasn’t Ghira Belladonna…”

“Their leader? Yes, at least he still was the last I heard from him. Blake Belladonna is his only daughter." Weiss raised her eyebrows. "But she’d know I know that, even if she didn’t know you did. It’d be a _very_ lazy lie.”

“She probably wasn’t thinking straight.” But Yang had gotten good at telling when people were lying. Blake had stared her dead in the eye as she’d said it. Even a desperate lie was still a lie, and her gaze hadn’t wavered.

Ruby watched Weiss for a moment longer before turning back to Yang. “Did she say anything about Taurus specifically?”

Yang shrugged, swallowing another bite of the meat. “She winced when I mentioned him, and Cinder’s promised to help her disappear if she tracks us down. Either she’s a really good actress, or…”

“Or she’s on the run.” Ruby leaned back in her chair. “What’s the agreement?”

“She helps us keep the Grimm and Cinder off us, I let her stay close and use us for safety. She tries to get back into contact with anyone else, or she comes within twenty feet of you two, deal’s off. If she wants to disappear so badly, she’s gotta help us disappear.”

Weiss gave a slow sigh that she probably hoped Yang hadn’t heard. Ruby, on the other hand, tapped her fingers on the counter, frowning. “…okay. Was there a plan for today?”

“Thought I’d go back and bust up the place a bit, make it look like we fought and she lost. Cinder’s gonna find that marker, I’d rather she thinks I caught and killed Blake before she could do anything.”

Weiss shook her head immediately. “Don’t fake her death. Even if Taurus is pissed at her right now, he’ll take it badly and the asshole is unhinged enough as-is."

“There’s another problem.” Yang glanced over to find Ruby leaning forwards in her chair, brows lowered. “Salem has a lot of followers, and Cinder’s deadliest when she’s desperate. If we fake Blake’s death and someone finds out that she’s alive, Cinder will improvise. Or, worse, Salem will get impatient with her.”

“Cinder’s far more interested in finding you than Salem is anyways. That might work in our favour.”

“Not if Salem decides to send someone else.”

Ruby didn’t specify who ‘someone else’ might be. She didn’t need to. A somber silence fell over all three of them.

Weiss broke through it first, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. “We need to move faster.”

“I don’t know if we can. Not without running out of food or hurting ourselves.”

“Or running headfirst into an ambush.” Yang grunted. “Don’t forget, Salem and Grimm aren’t the only things out there.”

“Yeah.” Ruby chewed her lip in the familiar way that suggested she was in the middle of building an idea. “There’s no way Cinder thought Blake would be able to take all three of us down by herself. There had to be a plan for when she caught up to us. I’m betting it involved going silent and trying to keep as close to us as possible while leaving a subtle trail for someone to follow.”

Yang slowly tilted her head, remembering to swallow the last piece of jerky. “You want us to make it look like she’s still doing her job.”

“Yeah.” Ruby inhaled, brushing the dark, reddish hair away from her eyes. “Make it look like you attacked her and she escaped. If Cinder catches up and sees her travelling with us, she’ll think she’s following orders.”

Weiss glanced between them. “…but then Blake could turn on us.”

“She can do that no matter what – she just has to say we forced her to help us. It’s just gonna be something we need to live with.”

Yang rubbed her face, absent-mindedly checking her watch. Then she jumped, scrambling to her feet. “ _Shit_ , I need to be there in two minutes.”

“Go, gogogo.” Ruby straightened, alert. “Wait – where are you going after you bust the place up?”

“She wants her gun back, told her if she could find me a better one than I’d give it back.” She shrugged as Weiss winced. “Look, if she’s gonna be helpful she needs it anyways. She said there was an ammunition supply in the area, I was planning on going with her to check it out.”

Ruby nodded. “In that case, Weiss and I are gonna cover some ground.”

Yang stopped. “…Let me scout ahead-“

“Yang.” The sight of silver hardening into iron forced Yang’s argument back down into her throat. “Weiss and I can scout. We’ll head towards the river and find a good place to cross, meet us there before sundown.”

Crossing the river, even on a bridge, was a risky endeavor. They could easily be seen, and even more easily be trapped. But the real danger was still Blake Belladonna, and Yang knew it as well as Ruby did.

Yang bit her lip. She tapped the right side of her collarbone.

Ruby mirrored the motion, tapping the upper right pocket of her jacket. Through the fabric, Yang could see the outline of the cigar-shaped object inside.

She still wasn’t comforted. But Yang forced herself to exhale and heft her own bag over her shoulder. “No gunfire signals. I wouldn't get there in time anyways.”

Ruby nodded, and pulled on her rifle’s strap, still slung over the back of her chair. “If you hear her go off, it means I’ve shot something.”

She had to go now, before she could think about what she was doing. Yang gritted her teeth, hating every second of the words. “I’ll see you before sundown. Be careful.”

“You too.” Weiss spoke before Ruby could, blue gaze still fixed on her. “…from what I know of Blake Belladonna, she’s fast and she’s wily. Don’t let her catch you off-guard.”

Yang nodded as she turned, barely comprehending the warning. She wasn’t the one headed into danger.

 _Summer, if you’re still listening,_ she silently begged as she headed towards the back door _, forget what I said earlier. Ignore me, keep watch over them. If Weiss’ big sister is with you, ask her to help. She sounded like she had her shit together._

Her gut still painfully twisted and jerked as Yang stepped out of the door and closed it behind her.

The air still smelled like rain, and any trace of Yang’s footprints from last night had been erased by the storm. It would make creating a story earlier, at least. She carefully kept to the gravel path leading to the back gate, avoiding leaving any trail.

A metallic gleam caught her eye as she pulled the latch and slipped into the back alley. She turned, and found a crowbar leaning against the fence. _Handy._ She grabbed it, hefting it with her good hand.

She glanced back over her shoulder at the house as she headed down the back lane. She thought she caught movement inside the house as she walked away.

She wasn’t giving them enough credit, she told herself as she turned back to the road. They were fast. They were smart. They would be fine.

It didn’t make her feel any better.

She shook her head as she walked, turning the corner towards the house Blake had slept in for the night. Absent-mindedly, she glanced up.

Sunlight bounced off the houses, highlighting just how broken and damaged they were. Rotting wood showed through the missing shingles.

Three houses down from her, like a fallen goddess perched on her decaying throne, Blake sat tall on a roof peak. Her ears had flipped forwards, surveying the neighborhood around them even as her eyes tilted down to the woman below her. Even from her distance away, Yang thought she could see gold reflecting in the light.

A strange, unnamed emotion rose in her throat. It was just… kind of a pretty sight. At least, she told herself, as she shook her head and focused on the road ahead of her.

She could feel Blake’s eyes on her as she stepped through the broken gate. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the faunus stand and carefully make her way down the roof. By the time Yang reached the house and finally looked up, Blake reached the edge of the roof. The dark circles under her eyes were just as pronounced as they had been last night. “You’re late.”

“Lost track of time.” Yang stopped at the edge of the home, keeping her eyes up on the perched faunus. “How long have you been up there?”

She shrugged. “Since sunrise.”

“Thought you would have slept longer.”

“I usually wake up much earlier.” Blake snorted, sitting back down and dangling her feet over the edge.

“I can imagine.” Yang watched as she nimbly dropped down, easily landing on her feet. “How obvious are the footprints inside the house?”

Blake tilted her head, stretching. “It just looks like a mess of muddy footprints. I’d be able to tell that more than one person was involved, and that something happened in the bathroom, but that’s about it.”

“Great.” Yang raised the crowbar. “I’m gonna go and bust up the bathroom a bit, then we’ll head out and find that ammunition store you were talking about.”

The golden eyes blinked. “I figured you were going to send me alone.”

“If the gun is for me, I may as well be there to see if it works properly.” She grunted. “Besides, if Cinder really is three or four days behind you, then I have a short window of time where I don’t need to worry about her seeing you working with us. May as well take advantage of it.”

The calm, cool façade cracked slightly as a nervous look flitted past Blake’s face. “Speaking of windows of time… I’d really like to know what this plan of yours entails.”

“Worried your boss might not take kindly to you switching sides?”

“Yes.”

She hadn’t been expecting the flatly honest reply, and it caught her off guard. Yang paused, sighing. “…Fall is most dangerous when she’s desperate. If she catches up, I’d rather she think that the plan is still working.”

“I was under the impression I’m not allowed to leave any markers or get into touch with her. That’s a pretty big tip-off that something is wrong.” Blake’s gaze was locked on Yang with the kind of focus that suggested repressed anxiety.

“You had to have had a plan for when you got this close – we would have noticed markers after a day or two, and it sounds like Cinder takes longer than that to catch up with you. I’m guessing it involved going silent and just staying close to us.” Yang deliberately parroted Ruby’s words, watching carefully for a reaction.

Blake bobbed her head, biting her lip. “So… what? You make it look like I’m following too close to risk leaving messages?”

“Something like that.” Yang rested the crowbar on her shoulder. “Thinking we make it look like I found you, attacked, and you escaped.”

The golden eyes narrowed, but she looked more deep in thought than suspicious. “Might work. I think it’s too late to make it look like I bolted now, though.”

“Yeah, you can barely see our tracks from last night, it wouldn’t fit. Just wait here while I make it look like a fight happened.”

Blake raised an eyebrow, but leaned back against the wall.

Yang turned around and slipped back into the house. Blake was right – the mess of footprints was difficult to read at best, and just chaos at worst. She didn’t worry about the extra prints she was leaving, instead climbing back up to the bathroom.

The bathroom looked much smaller in the day. Some light filtered in from the rest of the house, but Yang still turned the flashlight back on and placed it on the counter. Blake hadn’t left any trace of her passing – save for a couple dark hairs at one end of the bathtub.

Perfect. Yang inhaled and raised the crowbar.

After weeks of doing her best to avoid noise, avoid attention, avoid any signs they’d passed, the porcelain shattering was nearly therapeutic. The metal crashed down, leaving a jagged hole and a large crack in the side.

As much as she wanted to bring the crowbar down again, Yang forced herself to turn, imagining someone sitting up from the tub, half-awake and panicked. She internally mapped where their head would be, and swung again, deliberately catching the crowbar on the wall to leave a large black scrape.

“Your aim’s kind of shit.”

Yang jumped, turning on her heel with a hiss. Blake leaned against the doorway, examining the damage with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s dark, I’m freaked out, and I don’t really want to hurt you.” Yang growled, irritated. “It’s realistic.”

The golden eyes narrowed at her. “If we’re going with the idea that you burst in on me while I was sleeping, you just walked in on a sleeping woman in a tub. Why not just shoot her?”

There was more than one question being asked, but Yang didn’t have the energy for either one. “Because that’s pretty damn hard to fake without actually blowing your brains out. This version of me didn’t recognize you, thinks you’re a loner, and is just trying to scare the hell out of you so you’ll turn tail and run away.” She turned, sizing up another hit to the mirror.

“Give me your knife.”

Yang looked back, and found Blake a step closer, hand outstretched. “Why?”

“Because you would have needed a flashlight to see. Even if you hadn’t seen me in the market, you’d recognize me the second I caught in the light.” She hesitated, and Yang saw the neutral mask slide, revealing some of the fear beneath. “…plus, if someone catches up, I’d like to have proof that something happened.”

She had a point. But Yang still eyed her carefully as she handed over the knife.

Blake took it, carefully sizing up her hand. Then, with one quick slash, opened a red, bloody line across the base of her thumb.

Yang winced, watching as Blake smeared blood over the door handle. “…you’re gonna get tetanus.”

Blake ignored her, leaving the bathroom and reaching for the far stairwell wall. Yang followed her down the stairs, watching her leave streaks of blood on the wall. She nudged the front door closed and locked it with her free hand, before starting to clumsily unlock it with the bloody one. “Make it look like you swung at me while I was trying to get this door open.”

Yang rested the crowbar on her shoulder and watched Blake unlock the door, then duck through it. She pushed off the rail, and raised the crowbar. Her shoulders tightened, and she delivered a strong, but awkward hit to the side of it, just above where Blake’s head would be. She inspected the respectable-sized dent in the door, then stepped through to join Blake outside. “That should work. But seriously, let me clean up your hand.”

Blake sighed, but she turned, watching as Yang put her bag on the ground. The small first-aid kit was always kept in the front pocket, where it could be quickly accessed. She produced a tiny bottle of alcohol and a square of gauze, turning it over on top of the square once. Yang reached out for her hand

For a split second, she saw Blake flinch away. But it had been extended again before she could even process that anything had happened, and the blank expression she glimpsed offered no answers. Still, she could feel the tension underneath the soft skin as Yang carefully steadied it. In comparison, she barely winced as alcohol-soaked gauze swept across the cut.

Yang’s mouth moved without her as she worked, reacting more to the tension in the hand than any actual curiosity. “You mentioned an ammunition store yesterday. Where is the place?”

“Uh.” Her speech was halting, distracted. “Just west of the market. I don’t know where exactly. But it’s there, I know people have been there recently.”

Yang glanced up. “White Fang?”

She shook her head, a tension building in her expression. “No. Not Salem either. Just a pair of loners I know who used to live around here.”

There was a lie somewhere in that statement. But it was too difficult to tell, exactly, where – she was too tense already.

Yang considered tightening her grip on the girl’s hand and asking for the truth. But Blake was already wound tighter than a guitar string, her jaw tight and muscles ready to pull back and flee.

So she just patted the cut dry and taped a clean gauze across it, and released her grip. Blake yanked it back just a hair too fast, but Yang didn’t comment on it, instead shoving the first aid kit away. “You got anything left inside?”

“No.” She hefted one strap of the backpack over her shoulder, as though in response.

“Good. Let’s move.”

It wasn’t really a surprise to her that Blake didn’t follow her perfectly. The faunus kept about six feet away, always on her left side as though wanting to watch that she wouldn’t grab for the gun. But an ear stayed flicked in her direction, and both wordlessly kept to the pavement, avoiding leaving any tracks behind.

As they reached the road, Blake stepped slightly closer, walking just on the other side of one of the faded yellow line that marked the center of it. Yang glanced sideways, finding her looking straight ahead, ears tipped backwards.

 _At least we’re both uncomfortable._ “You hear anything?”

The ears pricked up and held position. After a long moment, she shook her head. “There’s probably a couple deer across the road, aside from that nothing I can hear.”

“Good.” Yang exhaled, turning her eyes back to the road.

She didn’t expect Blake to break the silence. But, as they passed an overgrown intersection, a low voice spoke up from beside her. “…I don’t think I remember what tetanus is.”

Yang blinked. “…uh. God, I don’t remember either. I remember getting vaccinated for it a couple times, though, it was some kind of disease you get it from rusty nails and shit.”

“Shit specifically? Huh.”

The dry humour was the last thing Yang was expecting to hear from beside her. She snorted before she could help herself. The low noise seemed to please Blake for a moment. Yang caught a flash of a sideways smile as she turned back forwards. “Hey, it was still worth cleaning the cut out, unless you want to end up like me.” She waved the metallic arm for emphasis.

Blake tilted her head. “Is that what happened? Cut yourself on a rusty nail?”

“Nah, I fought a grimm-infected bear.” It wasn’t the truth, of course. But Yang was playing a different game entirely, watching Blake’s reaction. “I’d been told to fight fire with fire, so killed it with my…. _bare_ hands.”

For a long moment, Blake was silent, and she thought she hadn’t gotten the joke. Then her steps slowed. Blake stopped entirely, then slowly, piece by piece, she turned around to stare at Yang.

A perfect, almost poetic, mixture of surprise, confusion, and utter disgust coloured the girl’s face. Yang’s shoulders came up, and an incredibly undignified snort escaped through her nose.

Blake jabbed a finger at her chest and hissed with what sounded like genuine anger. “I should have fucking known when I saw the shirt.”

That was the only push that she needed. He her head tilted back, her chest expanded, and Yang roared with laughter.

Through tear-blurred eyes, she saw the faunus roll her eyes as she walked ahead. “Do you make a habit of laughing at your own jokes?”

“No.” She managed, wiping at her eyes, corners of her mouth aching from being pulled back into a grin. “Just at the reaction to them.”

“Ugh. Note taken.” Despite the dry tone, Yang thought she could hear something like chuckle below her tone.

Yang forced herself to inhale, speaking in an only a marginally steadier tone. “Wasn’t expecting you to have a sense of humour, I’ll be honest.”

“You say this, but I’m really not the one who’s been aggressive up to this point.” She pointed out dryly.

That sobered her a bit. “…yeah, fair enough.” Yang quietly winced as she remembered a dark subway tunnel. “Did… your head heal up okay?”

Blake glanced back over her shoulder. “Yes. Obviously.”

Yang chewed her lip. “For what it’s worth… I’m sorry. I was expecting you to block. I wouldn’t have hit you that hard otherwise.”

She blinked, as though confused. “You were cornered and trying to save your friends. I wasn’t exactly expecting you to go easy on me.”

“Still. Dirty move.” Yang quickened her steps, catching up.

“Sometimes you have to fight dirty to survive.”

“Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still avoid it when you can.”

Blake seemed to ponder that for a couple minutes. Yang, on the other hand, focused on the row of signs that had come into view. “Eyes up. We’re getting close to the market, it’ll be around here somewhere.”

Both women fell silent, eyes up and examining the buildings as they passed. Yang was looking at the buildings in behind the ones along the road – if it really hadn’t been looted, then it wouldn’t be obvious.

She was partially right. After a few minutes of walking, she glimpsed a tiny, unmarked building behind what might have once been a pharmacy. “Hey.”

Blake immediately turned, ears up. Yang didn’t wait for her, squeezing between the pharmacy and the neighboring store to reach the little alley behind them.

The tiny building had stucco walls and no windows, and looked more like an outcropping of the clothing store it was hidden behind than its own store. But the metal door, while rusty and tightly shut, lacked the dust and dirt she’d come to expect from an untouched ruin.

Blake passed her, kneeling in front of the door and pulling something out of a pants pocket. Out of habit, Yang turned, watching for any movement behind them as the slender faunus began to pick the door’s lock.

A low squeak announced Blake’s success, and the door swung open. Yang tilted her head. “…wow. It’s a wonder no one’s opened that before.”

“It has been opened before. Someone’s just been locking it behind them.” She replied, stepping into the dark.

Yang fumbled for the flashlight as she followed along – the second she clicked it on, her eyebrows rose.

Even before the end of the world, the tiny store must have been put together in less than an hour. An empty gun rack hung from one wall, while a row of iron shelves full of dusty boxes filled the other side.

Yang glanced over with mockingly innocent expression. “Think this is the place?”

Blake’s only response was to pass her with a dry look. Yang chuckled to herself and followed along.

At some point, the place had indeed been looted. But she suspected it had happened before the end of the world, and had been from people buying out stock rather than just taking it. Anyone that had gone through since had been considerate enough to take only what they needed. Long, flat boxes that looked more appropriate for candy than ammunition were still neatly piled in their places.

“Wow,” Yang muttered, sweeping a flashlight over the shelves. “There’s actually some decent shit in here.”

“Yeah.” Blake closed the door, probably more out of habit then caution, plunging them into dim light. “Nep- A guy I know said it hadn’t been looted much.”

The human in the pharmacy had introduced himself as Neptune. Of course, it wasn’t exactly a surprise, but maybe the time had come to prod her about it. Yang kept her voice casual as she set the flashlight upright on top of a shelf. “That your friend from the pharmacy?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Blake stopped moving. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She sighed. “Look, Blake, I’m not an idiot. I know they had to have told you. I’m not going to turn around and go after them, I just want to know what’s going on around me.”

“…I made them tell me.” Blake finally muttered. “They have no allegiance to the White Fang or to Salem. One of them is an old friend of mine. Nothing more.”

“I wondered,” Yang kept her eyes on the shelves, “I’ll keep it between us. I just wanted to know.”

“Great.” Blake had turned to examine a display kit, discomfort clear in every line of her body. “Don’t you need to be looking for a gun?”

“I haven’t forgotten. Just wanted to clear that up first.” Yang moved, looking through the various cabinets and cupboards.

As he looked, her eye caught on a flash of light. She glanced sideways, and found a small mirror sitting near the ground. In it, she could see Blake rifling around underneath the front desk _._ She kept an eye on it as she went about looking for a usable firearm in the cabinets.

After a few minutes, she heard a rustle behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed movement. She glanced sideways.

She found Blake on the ground, a small foam-lined box in front of her. She was holding a handgun frame much like her own – it had been disassembled, the foam case saving it from the worst of the dust.

Yang didn’t turn yet, watching the reflection. Blake hadn’t called her yet, her eyes locked on something in the case. She knelt, as though looking for something on a bottom shelf, and the reflection in the mirror adjusted, showing more of the case at her feet.

A box of unused ammunition rested in the case. Yang couldn’t see the markings on the box, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was probably intended to fit the gun it had been stored with.

Which was probably the same size as the one that Blake wanted back so desperately.

Yang pretended to rifle through the shelves, dread settling into the pit of her stomach as she waited for Blake to pocket some extra rounds.

Instead, with a low sigh, the girl got to her feet. “Yang.”

Thankfully, her muscle memory reacted faster than her conscious mind, and Yang turned at the sound of her own name. Blake placed the box on the counter, ears pressed backwards. “You’ll need to put it together, but I think it’s already built for someone that’s left-handed.” Her voice was tired, hollow.

Yang struggled to keep her face devoid of the mixture of confusion and relief, focusing on the disassembled gun. “Where’d you find it?”

“Under here.” She kicked the counter. “Probably belonged to the owner. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to clean it first, but it looks like it’s kept pretty well in there.”

“Probably best if I do that tonight when I have the time.” Yang slowly reached in, picking up the pieces from their foam-lined case.

Blake hesitated. “…do you want me to-“

“No, I got it.” Yang cocked the right arm just right, wedging the slide between her fingers. The prosthetic was awkward, but not completely useless.

She could feel Blake watching her as she carefully assembled the pistol, her right hand acting as a grip while the left slid everything into place. She weighed it in her left hand and cocked the completed slide backwards. A quick glance to the grip to ensure the magazine wasn’t loaded, and Yang raised the gun to point at the back of the room. She pulled the trigger and was rewarded with a quiet ‘click’. “Yeah. Yeah, that’ll work.”

“Great,” She glanced back to find Blake resting her hand on the box, “because there’s at least a magazine’s worth of bullets in here.”

Now she was at a crossroads. Blake was staring back at her. Yang had expected her to push about the gun, but her eyes were dull. Like she knew better than to hope.

Yang tilted her head. “…can you do me a favor?”

A soft, barely audible sigh. “Probably.”

Yang unsnapped the holster and pulled out the smaller, sleeker gun. She pressed the button that would release the magazine, caught it in her metal hand, then placed both pieces in front of Blake. “If they fit yours, split the bullets between us?”

Blake’s stone face cracked into bewilderment. Her eyes darted between the gun and Yang. Slowly, as though expecting to have her hand slapped away, her fingers curled around the gun. “…what do I owe you?”

Yang slowly tilted her head. “I told you last night – you find me a new gun, I give your old one back. You’re not gonna be useful with an empty gun.”

Blake’s unease seemed to only increase at that. Her eyes darted up and down between Yang’s face and the handgun in front of her.

Yang sighed and leaned against the counter. “You really want to owe me something? This is me keeping my word. I expect the same out of you.”

She blinked, the flashlight catching gold in her eyes, and for a moment all Yang could think was how unfair it was that Blake was so goddamned pretty.

Then, almost faster than Yang could follow, she pulled the gun back to her. Yang’s hand automatically tightened on her own, something primal reacting with the speed she’d moved.

But Blake only lifted it, looking it over. The tension bled out of her shoulders, her eyebrows raised slightly.

She didn’t meet Yang’s eyes as she began to load the box of bullets into each magazine. But, in a low tone, Yang heard her mutter, “…thanks.”

“Thank me by not making me regret it.” She kept her tone light, looking over the store one more time.

Blake’s quiet voice was oddly sincere. “I won’t.”

Yang bit her lip, listening to the bullets slide into place. _She probably doesn’t want to talk about it. And you don’t want to know._ But that didn’t stop her from wondering what must have happened to Blake to make her so sure any promise made to her could easily be broken. Or from quietly resolving not to break any promises she made.

A full magazine clunked beside her elbow, drawing her gaze. "You get seven, I get six." Blake nudged it towards her before focusing on her own.

"Does that include the one you still have in the chamber?" Yang carefully loaded it and slid the gun into her holster. It still didn’t fit perfectly, but it was slightly larger and fit a little more snugly into the leather sheath.

”No - so we both have seven, I guess." Blake loaded her own magazine, gun still on the counter beside her. “Where do we go from here?

Instinctively, Yang’s mind went back to her memory, trying to remember where, exactly she was supposed to go.

Ruby and Weiss were on their own, headed west towards the river.

Her chest tightened. Yang forced herself to inhale, shaking her head to clear it. “West. I want to get across the river before nightfall.” She turned away, pretending to examine a case of shotgun shells.

A pause from behind her. “…that works, but I meant more ‘what do you want me to do’.”

Yang blinked. “Oh. Ah.” She closed her eyes, rubbing her face. “I was thinking you follow along behind us and cover tracks. Makes more sense than you being in front of us if Cinder catches up.”

“It does if no one knows I'm in front of you.” 

“…Explain that to me later.” Yang pocketed the shotgun shells – it was far more of a comfort than a necessity. Shotguns were loud, painful, and rare, but the few times Yang had shot one, it had been incredibly fun. “Let’s move, we’ve been here too long.”

Blake nodded, leaving the open box on the counter as Yang grabbed the flashlight off the shelf.

The daylight outside was just as still and peaceful as they’d left it. It only put Yang more on edge, anxiously shifting her weight back and forth as Blake locked the door’s handle before pulling it closed. Grimm didn't like to move in the daylight, which meant everything else did. She silently headed back to the main road and began to walk. Maybe if they hurried they’d catch up early.

Despite her nerves, Yang was aware of Blake walking beside her. She was still more than an arms length away, but she walked alongside her now, instead of slightly behind. Her ears twitched backwards occasionally, but she seemed to be more focused on the road ahead.

A comfortable sort of silence settled between them. With every minute that passed without noise, without faint screaming, or having to explain why she was tense, Yang’s breaths slowly began to come easier.

As they passed the neighborhood that they’d slept in, Yang finally glanced sideways, intending to ask Blake more about what she had in mind for scouting ahead.

She found Blake’s brow lowered. Her ears were still twitching backwards, as though hearing something, then her head turned completely. “…do you hear that?”

Yang slowed. “No. I…” She paused. Faintly, she thought she could hear a mechanical hum. “What is that?”

Blake didn’t speak for a long moment, ears perked towards the road behind them. “…it’s an engine.”

There was a split second of blissful ignorance as Yang processed the words. Then fear hit her like a truck, tying her gut into a knot and plunging her limbs into an ice bath. “Car?” She didn’t trust herself to make another noise, her mouth dry.

“Yes.” But Blake didn’t move, even though the colour was beginning to drain from her face. “It’s not nearby.”

“How far away is it?” Yang could barely hear her own voice over the thundering pulse in her ears.

“Far enough to not be a problem. Maybe two miles?”

“That’s too close.” Yang didn’t give any more thought to trying to speak and turned on her heel.

As much as she wanted to sprint, she forced herself to move at a quick walk – running would shave off precious energy that she needed to save. In her mind, she tried to draw the closest line to the river, trying to find a shortcut.

A dark blur appeared in the corner of her eye. “I can run ahead and see if I can find their footprints. We’ll catch up faster.”

Yang gritted her teeth. “No. They would have hidden their trail, we’ll just leave something to be followed. Keep to the pavement, we’ll cut them off this way.”

She could feel Blake’s stare on her. “That car isn’t going to find them. And I’d hear it if there was a second one.”

“And what if someone’s on foot?” She retorted, feeling her own anxiety rising higher by the moment. “Let me handle the worrying. You’re not the one in danger.”

An uneasy silence stretched between them. Then, in a quiet voice, “Yes I am.”

That caught her off-guard. Yang turned around completely to look at her, confusion outweighing anxiety for long enough to halt her feet.

Blake’s jaw was clenched, eyes locked with hers. “I could convince Cinder not to hurt me. I’ve never met Salem in person, but I might be able to reason with her. If Adam Taurus catches up with me and sees what I’ve done, he-” her voice cracked, and Blake had to take a moment to inhale, as though steeling herself “-it would end badly for me.”

Yang stared, her own fear momentarily forgotten. “…why?”

The black ears flattened against her head. “It doesn’t matter. The only reason I’m telling you this at all is so you understand that I have something at stake too.” She inhaled. Her eyes met Yang’s, brow set into a firm line. “I don’t want to be found either.”

It hung in the air between them for a long, long moment. Yang kept her gaze locked on Blake’s, waiting for a break, for the attempt to break the silence, for anything that would suggest that she was just trying to lull Yang into a false sense of security.

It never came. Blake stared straight back at her, and Yang thought she could see fear as real as her own reflected back at her.

She forced herself to inhale. “Where is the car now?”

Blake’s ear flicked backwards. “…still behind us. But I don’t think it’s on this road, it’s east and a bit south.”

Yang nodded, and began to walk again. Blake wordlessly followed, her eyes low.

Her fear wasn’t forgotten – it still burned, deep in her gut. But something about Blake’s actions and reactions picked at her, distracting her from the constant fear she carried around. Really, she shouldn’t be trusting a word the faunus said; but there was something too genuine about her hesitations, the way she expected everything to be yanked out from underneath her. Yang’s mind turned it over and over like the puzzle boxes that Ruby had loved as a kid, trying to tease some kind of truth out of it.

Uneasy silence began to fade into something marginally more comfortable. Blake’s ears still twitched every now and then, and Yang found herself watching for the movements, knowing they would point towards the closest audible danger.

They'd been walking for the better part of an hour, and had reached what had once been a cluster of strip malls when Yang finally trusted herself to speak. “You mentioned staying ahead of us instead of behind us?”

Blake glanced over. There was still tension in her face and shoulders, but not her voice. “Yeah. I like to sleep in the early afternoon and move in the early morning. It would make more sense if I used that time to scout – there would only be Grimm moving around at that time.”

“What if you get attacked?”

Blake raised her eyebrows, and a ghost of a smile appeared. “I’ve been alone and unarmed for a full week. I can handle myself.”

"...fair enough." Yang turned her focus to hopping over a concrete barrier that had been inexplicably placed in the middle of the intersection they'd reached. "I think the girls and I are just going to find a place and lay low for the afternoon. I don’t want to cross the river tonight if there’s someone nearby. Hunker down to sleep near us, then try to get as close to the river as you can when you get up. Find a place to cross that isn’t wide open and-” One of Blake’s ears swiveled upwards left, and Yang cut herself off. “What is it?”

The faunus paused, then slowly blinked, face softening. “Something that can wait. Finish your thought.”

“Was just gonna say to tell us when you find a good place to cross.” Yang scanned her face, tension returning to her gut. “Seriously, what did you hear?”

A slow smile pulled at Blake’s mouth as she nodded towards a side road behind Yang. “Your sister has an _incredibly_ high-pitched voice.”

Yang whirled, mouth dry.

Even from three blocks away, the red jacket was unmistakable. Yang’s breath escaped in one heavy exhale as she watched Weiss and Ruby head down the road, their backs to her, clearly talking in a low tone that she couldn’t hear.

She turned, “Tha-”

The intersection behind her was empty. Blake could have been a ghost – had it not been for the brief flash of dark hair disappearing down an alleyway.

Yang stayed still for a long moment, listening and watching for what she told herself was danger. Then, with a reluctance that she didn’t really understand, she followed Weiss and Ruby, jogging to catch up.

After walking with Blake, it seemed like it took forever for Weiss to glance backwards and see her. A relieved smile spit her face, and she pushed Ruby’s shoulder, cuing her to turn. “That didn’t take you long.” Weiss finally spoke once Yang reached her. “How’d it go?”

She tilted her hand side to side, settling in to walk beside Ruby. “Good news is, I found this.” She drew the gun, extending it towards them.

“Ooh!” Ever the weapons lover, Ruby wasted no time in pressing closer, looking the gun over carefully. “I was kind of hoping for something more exciting, but that works!”

“Picky, picky.” Yang hissed, albeit good-naturedly. “The seven bullets in the chamber are the exciting part.”

Ruby’s low whistle was cut off by the grin that involuntarily spread across her face.

Weiss, on the other hand, was far more interested in examining Yang’s face. “So, what’s the bad news?”

“Blake heard a car while we were walking back.”

Both girls’ faces fell immediately. “…shit.” Weiss hissed, glancing behind them again. “Do we need to run?”

“Not necessarily.” Yang holstered the gun. “She said it was a couple miles behind us.”

“You believe her? That it was far away?”

“Yeah – I could hear it too, and it wasn’t any closer than that. I was thinking we should hunker down for the afternoon and try to cross the river early tomorrow morning. I don’t want to be out in the open if someone’s in the neighborhood.”

Weiss’ gaze didn’t leave her, but it was Ruby who spoke up. “What’s Blake gonna do in the meantime?”

“Sleep, by the sound of things. Sounds like she keeps the same kind of hours as you, Rubes, but she prefers to move during the night. I told her to scout out a river crossing overnight and report back.” Yang watched their faces carefully as she spoke. “She thought it’d be a better idea if she stays ahead of us rather than behind us.”

Ruby nodded slowly. “She say anything else?”

Yang chewed her lip. “…just that she doesn’t want to be found either. I get the impression that she’s got more at stake than she lets on.”

Weiss looked down, a frown creasing her face.

Ruby, on the other hand, shrugged. “I don’t blame her. Oh – hang on, I want to check in here.” Ruby pointed towards the faded remains of a bookstore, trotting closer to it.

Weiss grumbled in annoyance that Yang knew wasn't real. She knew that Weiss read the comics Ruby picked up with just as much enthusiasm as Ruby did. As Ruby moved out of earshot, Yang felt Weiss press closer. “How sure are you that she’s telling the truth?”

“Can’t be completely sure.” She muttered back, watching Ruby carefully as the woman picked her way through the broken front window. “But she told me that if Taurus found her, he’d hurt her, and it didn’t look like she was lying.”

“She can join the club.” Weiss rolled her eyes.

“Weiss-”

“No. Don’t ‘Weiss’ me.” She snapped, staring Yang dead in the eye. “She helped that _monster_ kill people that did not deserve to die. I will dislike her as much as I damn well please.”

There really wasn’t any reply to that. At least, none that Yang wanted to say. She wearily nodded, turning her gaze back to Ruby.

She wasn't expecting Weiss to speak, and nearly jumped when she did. "Do you trust her?"

Yang blinked as she looked back at her shorter companion.

A pair of ice blue eyes stared back at her with a quieter sort of intensity than before. "We both know that I never will. But I trust you, and I know you wouldn't risk our lives if you didn't think it was worth it. So, do you think you trust her?"

She didn’t answer right away, turning it over and over in her mind. The untouched bullets, the smeared blood on the walls, the confusion in the golden eyes.

“For now.” She finally said, watching Ruby rifle through the stand at the front of the bookstore in search of comics.


	5. Bridge of Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this took FAR longer than what I would have liked, and forced me to break my goal of having the next chapter written before I post the current one. BUT - it's still October 1st on my clock as I post this, and that's what really matters to me.
> 
> Thank you guys so much for your patience!!! I promise, we will return to a 2 week posting schedule soon. I'm hoping to have my secret project wrapped up by October 23rd (and yes, I am procrastinating from that one to work on this one right now), but after that point this fic will be my only child to spoil once again. So, at the very least, the next update won't be any longer than a month away, and hopefully much sooner!
> 
> That all aside - I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Typo hunting is always encouraged (I did a LOT of 'plot' editing, which makes proofreading for details extremely difficult for me), and feedback is adored! <3 
> 
> Thank you guys all so much for reading!!

Any sound from the little shop across the street was muffled by rain. But If you sat still long enough and watched, you could see small disturbances inside. Every now and then, a shadow would shift on the other side of the boarded windows.

Last night, while silently following them, she’d heard Yang say that Ruby ‘kept the same hours’ as Blake did. She could almost guarantee it was Ruby Rose on the other end of the window, watching as Yang and Schnee slept, completely unaware of the danger less than twenty feet away.

Blake stood motionless, invisible against the dark backdrop of what had once been a café. Rain poured against the hood of her jacket, bandaged hand safely tucked away from the rain in her sleeve. The weight of her pistol comfortably rested against her hip, finally back in its holster where it belonged. She’d been exhausted and unarmed the night before. She’d been caught off guard in the subway. She was neither of those things tonight.

If she kept low to the ground and kept silent to her own ears, she could sneak up to the building. She could pick the lock and soundlessly slip inside. She wouldn’t be able to overpower all three girls on her own; but she could slow them down. She could injure them, she could steal food, she could destroy weapons. Then she would escape into the night, and continue to stalk them. With a slowed pace, it wouldn’t take long for Cinder to catch up. It wouldn’t even be _difficult_.

Or, at least, it shouldn’t have been.

Because Blake had been standing in place for some time. She knew she should have moved long ago. She knew the deed should already be done, and frightened and furious screams should be piercing the air.

But she hadn’t moved. She was beginning to realize that she wasn’t going to.

 _She wouldn’t do the same for you, and you know it._ Her thoughts sounded exhausted, weighed down by the reality they’d come to. She couldn’t even argue that point. Yang Xiao Long had made it abundantly clear that she wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet through Blake’s skull if she mis-stepped.

She’d also joked, and smiled, and nudged a magazine of bullets towards her.

_“You really want to owe me something? This is me keeping my word. I expect the same out of you.”_

It wasn’t worth the risk that she’d get caught and killed; or worse, spook them into running even faster. It made more sense to play along – when Cinder inevitably caught up, she could sell them out. The rationale didn’t stop her whispering to herself as her feet began to back away on their own. “You naïve _fool_ Belladonna.”

Her back prickled uncomfortably as she turned away from the shop. It was far too dark for any human eyes to be able to see her. Probably. If it was so dark that she could only see in black and white, then it had to be too dark for human eyes, but she could never be completely sure.

But, as Blake bowed her head against the rain, she knew the feeling had far less to do with any real eyes watching her, and far more to do with the idea of who could be watching.

The anxiety didn’t pass as she walked. Waves of nausea rolled through her gut as she left the little shopping sector, still nervously glancing over her shoulder. That sensation, at least, she could pass off as hunger instead of fear; she hadn’t eaten as much as she should have yesterday, too on edge and anxious.

She grimaced, swallowing and rubbing her face. _May as well make it a decent day._

Blake paused to fish the can of tuna and an old fork out of her backpack. She’d intended to save it for a special occasion; a toast to her own bad decision-making skills was as good of one as any. She set the can down on the skeleton of a car and dug her knife into the top of the can. After prising it off, she rinsed the jagged sheet of metal off in a nearby puddle, then carefully stored it away in one of the inner pockets of the bag. There was no telling when an extra sharp edge could come in handy.

She bolted down the can as she walked, savoring every bite of the (admittedly stale) fish. Her ears flicked annoyedly at the loud thrum of water against her hood. She hadn’t forgotten the faint hum of an engine that they’d heard yesterday – and she knew there was no way she’d hear it over the rain, even with her hood off. It wasn’t unusual that the early summer would bring violent storms but raining every night for the past week was. Blake’s eyes carefully surveyed the dark, watching for any sign of company and hoping the rain would pass soon.

As she surveyed the roads she passed, the names began to ping at a file of memories in the back of her mind. She’d been here before, though she couldn’t remember when. Maybe the White Fang had settled here once. Blake put it out of her mind for the moment, swallowing another bite of tuna and continuing down the street towards a river crossing.

The tuna was long gone and Blake was almost within sight of the river when she realized that the rushing water wasn’t just the rain on her hood.

Usually, the riverbank sloped downwards for ten feet before ending at the edge of the river. Trees and plants grew along the steep edge, framing the blue-green water with a dense underbrush.

The water was still there. But the slope wasn’t.

Her steps came to a halt as Blake stared at the raging, muddy water with wide eyes. The river had swollen to the top of its bank, threatening to overflow and flood the street that ran alongside it. The trees that had lined the bank were bent and broken from the strain of the water roaring past. Branches and bits of plastic helplessly bobbed in the current.

For a long moment, Blake could only stare, stunned. The amount of rain had been unusual, sure, but not enough to spawn a flood. Though, as she turned it over in her mind, she remembered that the spring had been colder than usual. The snow in the nearby mountains probably hadn’t melted until now. With the rain falling and the snow melting combined, and no one controlling the floodgates of the dam upstream…

Blake’s gaze lifted back to the river, this time looking downstream. One of the many bridges stretched across the river three blocks away. Even from a distance, she could see dark shadows flitting back and forth across the concrete structure. She bit her lip and pulled her hood back, exposing her ears to the rain.

Almost immediately, she heard faint growls from the Grimm pacing on the bridge – dogs, or at least the twisted remains of dogs. Then, much further away, she caught a wail that did not sound undead and howls that did.

Her fingers nervously tapped at her sides as she backed away. The Grimm were going to stay out for a while if there were survivors fleeing the floodwaters further downstream. Travelling to find a better bridge wasn’t a good idea, but neither was trying to cross this one. She turned her head, looking upstream.

Barely visible in the dull light, a shadow stretched across the river. The sight was an instant memory; Ilia turning to walk completely backwards on the narrow foot bridge, eyes wide as she watched Blake walk along the narrow railing. Adam had yelled at them to hurry up, but the look of wide-eyed admiration from the older girl had been worth every wasted second.

Blake shook her head, blinking at the narrow bridge. She’d last seen it almost five years ago, when she was a loyal soldier in the White Fang’s ranks. It hadn’t fared much better than she had – barely standing above the raging current, looking like it could collapse at any moment. But it was too narrow and rickety for an animal to willingly cross, and nearly completely hidden by trees from the road.

She pulled her hood back up and turned on her heel. If Yang really wanted to get across the river today, her options weren’t going to get any better.

By the time she reached the store again, the rain had settled into a light drizzle, and the cloud cover had eased enough to let her read her watch and see that it was just past four o’clock. Blake sat down on the hood of a parked vehicle across the street, in plain view of the window, and waited. To a human’s eye, it would still be dark outside – but with the faint moonlight, they had to be able to see her.

Sure enough, as she patiently sat, she heard faint whispers and mutters from inside the shop. Yang, to her surprise, only took a few minutes to emerge, pulling the leather jacket over an oversized shirt and jeans. The lilac eyes were wide and alert as she crossed the street.

Blake tilted her head. “You’re up early.”

“Ruby heard Grimm, woke us up in case we needed to move.” Yang’s eyes flicked over her. “Is someone on us?”

“No, but I think the three of you should start moving.” She kept her voice low. “The river flooded.”

“Shit.” Frustration briefly crossed her face before snapping back to focus on Blake. “Is the bridge still there?”

“Yes, but it’s crawling with Grimm. I could hear survivors yelling somewhere downstream, they must have attracted a horde. There’s a little foot bridge that you can cross, but it might be the only option.”

Yang slowly nodded. “Did you hear the car again?”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have been able to unless it was close by, the river was too loud. But I didn’t see any headlights.”

“Okay.” Yang seemed to be talking to herself more than Blake, rubbing her face. “Where’s the foot bridge?”

“I went down forty-third avenue to the river, I could see it from there, but it’s probably a couple blocks north on fourteenth street.”

The directions were a little garbled, but Yang seemed to follow them regardless. She nodded, frowning. “We’re ready to move. Head for the bridge. We’ll follow.”

Blake nodded, and slowly got back to her feet as Yang jogged back to the shop. As she picked up her backpack, she could hear the low hum of voices inside. From this distance, though, she couldn’t make out words – but she could hear the nervous, suspicious tone.

She fought the urge to sigh as she leaned against the car. No matter what side she was on, no one was going to trust her.

True to Yang’s word, the three women only took a minute to appear from the back of the shop, watching the street past the door. Yang was scanning down the road, and Schnee busied herself with adjusting the bag on her back. Ruby, on the other hand, was looking at Blake as soon as she came into view.

Blake didn’t bother looking back at her. She turned, silently heading down the street. Faint footsteps followed her after a moment, and Blake focused on the pavement, hoping they wouldn’t speak.

To their credit, they didn’t. Nothing but faint footsteps followed her as they made the trek back down the street, towards the swollen and treacherous river. No noise at all, aside from the faint howls and snarls of Grimm, reached her. She wasn’t sure if it relaxed her or just put her more on edge.

Once they reached the river itself, she couldn’t help but look towards the bridge she’d singled out as too dangerous. With her luck, it would probably be completely safe now.

It wasn’t. Blake’s steps ground to a halt as she watched the pack of Grimm, now far easier to see in the moonlight. They’d grown in number since she’d last seen them – and now she could see at least one humanoid form.

She didn’t need to tell the trio to follow. They immediately scampered after her, still a good twenty feet behind but not lagging any further.

The bridge came into sight, and Blake regretted her idea more with every step. It looked even more rickety up close – the water was barely inches below the walkway, rushing past the frail-looking supports.

She stepped to the edge of the bridge, and winced at the rotting wood below. Contrary to stereotype, Blake could swim just fine. But that didn’t mean she had any interest in actually getting into the muddy, raging water.

Behind her, she heard Yang’s feet shift in the mud, closing the distance between them. Blake glanced backwards, finding her looking between the bridge and the river, jaw moving slightly.

Somewhere behind her, Schnee finally spoke up, barely above a whisper. “…Yang, I don’t think you should-“

“The next bridge isn’t for another mile, we’d be crossing in broad daylight by then.” Yang grunted, but Blake saw the hesitation plain as day. “We gotta get across.”

She looked at the broad-shouldered woman with one arm, then down at the raging water, and wondered if the blonde could swim.

Her voice came out between gritted teeth. “I’ll go first.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yang turn, relief clear on her face for a split second before snapping back to the focused anxiety. “I’ll hear it collapsing before you do. If it’s strong enough to support me going across, it should be able to hold for the three of you. Worst come to worst, I’m a strong swimmer.”

The moon, still choked by clouds, was over her shoulder, making Yang’s expression even harder to read. But, after a long pause, she stepped back. “Okay. Turn around and come back if you hear it giving way.”

Blake nodded, hefting her pack. The offer wasn’t just for their benefit – if the bridge collapsed with Ruby or Weiss on it, she would have three different people ready to rip her apart. If Yang did, there would be nothing stopping Ruby and Weiss from attacking her and fleeing.

She still regretted every movement as she stepped onto the rusted metal. The wooden floor had long since rotted away, exposing the furious current below. Ironically enough, had it not been for the rain, walking on the railing might have been the safest way to go. Instead, Blake kept to the edge of the bridge, one hand sliding along the metal rail and carefully placing her feet on the metal beam running its length.

At first, all Blake could hear was metallic squeaking – but not the kind that indicated a collapsing bridge, just a rusty one. But, as she reached the middle of the bridge, the squeak grew to a low groan. She bit her lip, slowing her steps. Maybe she should turn around.

As if in reply, a metallic screech split through the air. Blake’s head jerked up in time to see a chunk of railing and wooden floor, swept away from a structure by the flooding current, collide with the bridge. Metal loudly protested as the river pulled down on the wide fragment, bending the metal that it was hooked through.

Yang’s voice carried above the complaining metal and raging water. “Come back! There’s more coming, we’ll die if we try to cross!”

Blake turned, eyes automatically scanning the land behind her – and froze.

Thirty feet away, four shadows were racing along the riverbank towards them. In a different time, Blake would have assumed they were dogs – but they were too silent and _far_ too large. The women on edge of the bridge hadn’t even glanced in their direction.

Blake’s lungs emptied. “GRIMM! THIRTY FEET!

All three girls whirled. For a heart stopping moment, Blake thought that they wouldn’t be able to see them approaching – but Yang’s eyes immediately caught on the approaching Grimm. But it was Ruby’s voice that split the air first.

The dark-haired woman gave a huge, whooping call, then bolted after Blake.

Yang’s cry of protest was drowned out as the Grimm began to howl, driven wild by the confirmation of prey. Schnee grabbed the back of her shirt, dragging her backwards as the Grimm closed the distance.

Blake scrambled backwards, turning to run as the girl careened towards her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw exactly what Yang had tired to warn her about – what looked like the entire side of a house was being carried towards them.

She didn’t have time to commit any more thought to it. Blake bolted across the last twenty feet of the bridge, no longer caring where she put her feet as long as it was solid metal. A howl seeped through to her bones, but Blake had already leapt onto land, panting and whirling on her heel.

To her horror, Ruby had stopped and turned only five feet from safety, staring down the nightmarish scene at the other end of the bridge.

One Grimm had fallen through a hole in the floor, panicking and howling as it scrambled to get up. The other two were desperately leaping across the short gaps in their attempt to get to the girl. The final one, however, had hung back to stand on the very edge of the bridge, watching as though wary of a trap.

Ruby’s weight shifted back and forth, glancing towards the huge fragment of debris barrelling towards them, and Blake could hear her frantically muttering under her breath. “Come on, come _on_ …”

In a heartbeat, Blake understood exactly what Ruby was trying to do, and what she was waiting for. And Blake knew, from the sum of many unfortunate experiences, that the dog-like Grimm hadn’t lost all of their instincts.

Blake sharply inhaled. Unlike Ruby’s, nothing about her scream sounded human. Her voice warbled into a blood-curdling imitation of a wounded animal, splitting through the air like a knife.

Ruby jumped, whirling with huge eyes. But Blake was focused on the final Grimm’s leap onto the bridge, howling in anticipation of an easy kill.

Then wood, concrete, and plastic slammed into rusted metal. Ruby finally leapt into a dead run as the bridge wailed. The Grimm disappeared as a wave of trapped water careened across the frail bridge, snapping metal beams with the force of gunshots.

The bridge ripped away from their end of the bank just as Ruby careened across the divide. She skidded to a halt, forcing Blake to scramble out of the way – then to continue scrambling, as she remembered that there was a lethal twenty-foot zone around her.

For a long moment, both women just panted for air, staring down at the river with wide eyes.

Nothing remained of the bridge but a few twisted metal beams sticking out from each end of the riverbank. The house fragment, now cracked into pieces from its collision, continued along with the fragments of the bridge. No signs of life, living or undead, broke the surface.

Blake slowly looked back up in time to see a pair of women slowly appear from the car they’d sheltered behind. Even at a distance, Yang looked nearly as pale as Schnee – but that didn’t detract from the deadpan stare she’d locked Blake in.

Ruby walked to the edge of the bank, shaking herself off. “Everyone okay?” She called, just loud enough to be heard over the water below.

“We’re fine!” Schnee called back, her voice cracking.

 _I might not be_. Blake watched Yang’s gaze harden into something that was halfway between suppressed fear and a dark warning.

Ruby either didn’t notice the look or was choosing to ignore it. Her voice stayed just below a yell, but still projected with enough force to reach the other two. “There’ll be more Grimm coming. Hide until dawn, then cross the big bridge. It’ll be easier to cross with only two of you. Blake and I will find a place to hide and watch for you.”

Schnee glanced towards Yang, but Yang’s gaze didn’t shift. Blake felt like yelling an addition of her own across the river, but bit her tongue. It wouldn’t help matters to point out that there wasn’t a choice.

Yang’s gaze finally tore from Blake to Ruby. She raised her fist to thump it against the right side of her chest.

Blake heard Ruby give a low, annoyed sigh. Then she followed the gesture - but Blake’s ears caught the faint sound of plastic being tapped.

Yang wordlessly backed away, then turned completely. Schnee took a moment longer to follow, but once she’d turned she didn’t look back. Yang, on the other hand, glanced over her shoulder as the two made their way back towards the shops that lined the road.

Ruby turned to head towards a cluster of buildings, and Blake silently followed, careful to mind the distance between the two of them. But she could feel Yang’s eyes on the back of her head right up until they disappeared behind a concrete barricade.

Despite Ruby’s worry, no undead snarls or howls popped up on their side of the river as they walked. Blake kept her ears up, swiveling constantly to catch any hint of danger. But, as dawn slowly lit the ruined buildings around them, the morning stayed quiet. The scrape of Ruby’s shoes on the wet pavement and the occasional rustle of the rifle over her shoulder were only joined by birdsong and the rushing river behind them.

Which, perhaps, was why it startled it so badly when Ruby’s voice split through the silence. “Why did you leave the White Fang?”

Blake’s head jerked up to find that the girl had stopped, barely more than twenty feet ahead. She hurriedly sidestepped, moving in a circle to keep a healthy distance away, staring at her with narrowed eyes.

Ruby met her gaze easily, even at a distance. “I know you can hear me just fine. It’s quiet, I’ll hear you just fine too.”

Blake gritted her teeth as she drew even with the younger woman. “Now isn’t the time.”

“Knowing my sister, this is the _only_ time.” Ruby raised her eyebrows, mercifully keeping her tone to just above a whisper. “And I have some questions.”

“Do you?” She kept walking, hoping that it might be harder for Ruby to decipher what she was saying if she couldn’t see Blake’s face. “Why is Salem after you?”

No such luck. “Oh, come on, that’s not fair.” Ruby responded easily, her footsteps following along. “Cinder’s probably already told you.”

“And I’m sure Schnee has told you.” Blake fired back, turning her head to track for movement between the buildings. “What does it matter? I’m not with them anymore, and Salem’s chasing you. Does it really matter why?”

“Weiss said that your parents used to lead the White Fang, and that you helped Adam Taurus kill her family. I’m guessing when he was thrown out, you were too. So, you’re either loyal and blind, or bloodthirsty and clever.” Blake looked back before she could stop herself. Ruby’s eyes had stayed on her. “I’d say that matters.”

Irritation flared, barely covering the guilt and pain pulling at her gut. Blake snapped back at the woman staring at her. “You’re immune to Grimm, and yet you’re running away instead of helping them find a cure. So, are you scared or selfish?”

She’d expected the glare to deepen. Instead, to her utter shock, Ruby snorted with laughter. “So that’s what she’s telling people.”

Blake stared. “Was it a lie?” Even as she said it, she knew it couldn’t be – at least, not completely. She’d seen Cinder’s deformed, horrific arm, heard the desperation in her voice. Cinder believed that Ruby was a cure.

Yet, Ruby still seemed darkly amused as she began to walk again. “Sort of. I can’t turn into a Grimm, if that’s what she means.” Blake could hear a much deeper guilt below the tone as she passed. “But I’m no cure.”

“How would you know?” Blake was still careful to keep twenty feet away as she started to walk. “And even if you did, why wouldn’t you just tell them that you’re not?”

“Trust me, I know. And I have.” The girlish voice didn’t fit the nearly cold tone. Ruby glanced over, silvery eyes flashing in the light. “If it was you, would you believe me? If you’d seen me get bit and live, and you’d been bit and knew you would die, would you really believe me if I said I couldn’t help you?”

Blake’s voice died in her throat.

Ruby’s eyes turned back to the road ahead, carefully stepping over a shattered bumper. “People believe in things when they get desperate.”

For a long few minutes, Blake could only follow from the other side of the street. It could easily be a lie; Ruby wouldn’t gain anything from Blake thinking she was the cure. But deep in her gut, Blake knew it was the truth. The guilt in Ruby’s tone, perhaps, was what sold it for her. As though, at one time, all she’d wanted to do was help, and the chance to had been stolen from her. Blake had more than enough experience with that particular feeling.

At first, she had no intentions of sharing any truth of her own with the younger girl. But with every step, Blake’s own guilt weighed heavier and heavier.

Maybe saying something would help.

“Adam…” She gritted her teeth, feeling Ruby’s eyes turn to her. “Adam Taurus and Ilia Amitola were… were close friends of mine. All three of us were exiled for… what we did.” Her ears pressed against her head, as if hoping she could muffle the memory of Sienna’s voice. She’d hoped that voicing the truth would make her feel lighter. Instead she just felt heavier, like the weight of her own bad choices were pushing her into the concrete. Blake looked away, finishing with a mutter under her breath. “We deserved worse.”

She didn’t dare look sideways, fully aware of Ruby’s gaze on her. “…why keep chasing, if you regre-”

One of the disadvantages of oversensitive ears was that you heard absolutely everything. Sometimes it could be difficult to tell the difference between a board creaking in the wind, and one creaking under a foot.

But when Blake heard a stone rattle, even under Ruby’s question, even through her own discomfort, something about the noise made her ears perk up. “Ruby. Stop.” Her voice slipped to a whisper, and the girl’s voice instantly died, turning to face Blake.

For a moment, nothing at all reached her. Blake wondered if her own desire to avoid the question had made her notice the noise.

Then the bottom of her stomach dropped out as footsteps reached her ears. Only one person. Maybe Yang’s weight – but Yang wouldn’t be walking alone, or without trying to muffle the noise.

“Hide.” She hissed.

Ruby had fast reflexes, at least. She whirled, darting for the alleyway next to her. A pair of dumpsters still stood in the dark corridor, and she wasted no time in scrambling into one as Blake jogged across the street.

Unfortunately, the metallic bottom of the dumpster had no intentions of staying quiet. Blake’s entire body flinched as Ruby landed inside the metal box, and a deafening ‘BANG’ rung out.

The faint footsteps accelerated from walking to running. They would check the dumpsters first. Yang's angry stare flashed in her memory, but it was already too late. There was no choice.

Blake grabbed the edge of the dumpster and vaulted up and over, managing to catch herself almost silently on the lip.

At some point, someone else had slept inside the dumpster. A small pile of blankets and debris had been piled in the corner. She caught a glimpse of Ruby’s pale, terrified face before she shoved the girl into the pile entirely, pulling a blanket down to shield her from sight. Then she curled on top of her, watching the lid of the huge metal can.

 _What are you doing?_ If it was Cinder, or one of Salem’s men, she could just turn her in. It wouldn’t take that much effort to get her rifle under control. She could be done with this whole mess before the sun went up, and Cinder would-

_But if Ruby is telling the truth, she can’t help Cinder._

The realization from Ruby’s earlier story came like a bolt of lightning, as she stared at the crack of light between the lid and the metal box. If she got Ruby back, and she turned out to be useless, would Cinder still keep her end of the bargain?

Footsteps echoed off the alleyway walls outside, silencing her thoughts. Her own breathing echoed off the metal box, deafening to her sensitive ears. But she could hear the faint scuff of boots outside. For a moment, she dared to hope that it was Yang.

Three quick knocks against the metal split her eardrums, forcing her to clamp her hands and arms against her ears. Someone was knocking on the dumpster as though it was a door.

Blake felt Ruby freeze up beside her. There were very few people bold enough to go looking for a hidden person, then knock on their hiding spot and wait. Yang and Schnee were not one of them.

She gritted her teeth. Then in one fluid motion, Blake drew her gun, stood, and pushed the lid open.

Grey eyes met hers, youthful face contrasting sharply with streaks of grey that ran through his hair. The man’s eyes narrowed at the end of the barrel. “Aren’t you usually quieter than that?”

In all reality, Blake was almost relieved to see Mercury Black. The other options were far, far worse. But that didn’t mean that the man in front of her wasn’t a threat, or that he hadn’t managed to find her at the worst possible time. The man met her glare easily, arrogantly confident despite the lack of a visible weapon. Blake hadn’t liked him when they’d been first introduced, and the permanent half-smirk on his face wasn’t helping matters.

Below her, in a direction that she didn’t dare even think about, Blake heard a deafening silence from under a blanket. Like someone was holding her breath.

Her mind fell into a hard line. If she was going to hand Ruby over, she needed to talk to Cinder herself first. She wasn’t going to just go with a human that she didn’t trust and hope for the best.

Which meant she had to keep Ruby hidden.

Blake disguised her racing heart with a low sigh, holstering her gun. “You startled me.” She grunted dryly, keeping her voice low and words short. “I don’t like being snuck up on.”

He tilted his head. “Scared of someone else?”

“We all are.” She caught herself on the edge of the dumpster, pulling herself up and easily swinging back out of the metal box, letting it close behind her. Mercury took a half step back in his odd, slightly unbalanced gait, allowing her only a small amount of space before locking eyes with her again. She scanned up and down him once more, not bothering to hide the obvious eye flick. No holster on his hip, no knife at his side. Her jaw tensed. “Why are you here?”

Mercury blinked, frowning as though pretending to be confused. “…scouting. Obviously.”

“Cinder told me you and Emerald were going to stay south.”

“Plan changed. We found a decent car; she wanted us to see if we could find any sign of them, or you.”

The car she and Yang had heard yesterday must have been them catching up. But Blake was far more occupied with the bigger problem; if Mercury was in front of her, Emerald couldn’t be far away.

Emerald Sustrai, for reasons that Blake hadn’t fully unwrapped, had gone from friendly and laid-back to outright cold the moment Cinder had cut her deal with Blake. She’d obeyed Cinder’s command and tended to Blake’s head, but Blake could feel suspicion radiating from her through the entire night. If she already distrusted Blake when she hadn’t done anything wrong, then trying to lie her way out of her current situation was going to be a nightmare.

To make matters worse – if Mercury wasn’t armed, Emerald almost certainly would be.

She disguised rising panic as annoyance, glaring at him. She just needed to make him move on. “I don’t need help. The two of you are just going to make it harder for me to catch up.”

“And how is that going, by the way?” Mercury raised his eyebrows, a smirk starting to pull at one corner of his mouth.

“I caught sight of them in Hightown two nights ago.”

He blinked – but not out of surprise. Acknowledgement, like she’d said something he’d already known. “And they’re still on the run?” The accusation wasn’t even slightly veiled.

He knew something – either he’d found her marker or he’d found the house. Blake didn’t allow herself to consider the possibility that he’d seen her with Yang.

Time to make a play of her own. “They’re less than a day ahead of me.” Blake grunted, glancing down the alley, as though suddenly unable to meet his eyes directly. “They must have crossed the river last night before it flooded. I barely got across the pedestrian bridge this morning before it collapsed.”

“Why didn’t you just stop them in the market?” Mercury raised his eyebrows, the smirk growing. But it was the kind that suggested he thought she’d made a minor mistake – if he had any idea what had actually happened, he would be staring her dead in the eye, or reaching for a hidden weapon.

“…you found the marker, I’m guessing.” She kept her voice low, and slightly unsteady. Like she was nervous, but not terrified.

“Found it last night. We thought we’d stop and check out the neighborhood next to it, too. Found a house with some real interesting stuff in it.” He tilted his head, raising his eyebrows in the same way someone might have when they revealed a winning poker hand, and glanced down at the hand that was still wrapped in a bandage. “Who caught you, by the way? Em bet Schnee, I bet Xiao Long.”

The insinuation that Emerald thought Schnee would have even _half_ a chance against Blake made it far easier to snarl at him, her tone perhaps a hint too desperate. “It doesn’t matter what happened. I’m still right behind them.”

“They attacked you and bolted.” He grinned. “You _lost_ them.”

There was absolutely nothing fake about her anger as she snarled back at him. “I didn’t lose _shit_. Tell Cinder that I’m too close to leave markers now, all I can do is stay as close as I can and try to leave a trail where I can. And you two need to clear out - if they were able to catch on to the fact I was nearby, you and Emerald will send them running. They probably ran through the night because they heard your damn car.”

“I’ll do that.” The nauseating smirk never left his face as he leaned uncomfortably close. “If you want, I could swing by Taurus’ place too.”

Any memory of Ruby, of the plan, of her own deception, was sucked out of her mind like air from a vacuum. Her entire body went deadly still, the sounds of an accelerating heart and rushing blood contained within tense muscles.

Mercury’s eyebrows rose in a mockery of pity. “Maybe he could come and protect you from the Xiao Long under the bed.”

Of course, Blake was smart enough to know she was being baited into a fight. She was smart enough to know Emerald had to be nearby.

But she was just too pissed off to care.

She laughed, the kind that was so low and mechanical that even a child couldn’t mistake it for amusement. “It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? If I’m so cowardly, and If Cinder trusts you two so much…” she stared dead into the middle of the cold, grey irises, “… why did she ask _me_ to follow them?”

The smirk didn’t change, but the light behind his eyes did. Without moving a muscle, his face grew colder, tighter. “Being a faunus has to have a couple perks, I suppose.”

“Maybe.” She stepped around him, purposely leaving her back exposed, keeping her hand just far enough away from her knife. “Or maybe she knows you two couldn’t find a Grimm in broad daylight.”

Of course, being a faunus did come with a couple perks. She heard Mercury inhale before he could turn. She’d already grabbed the knife with her left hand when he jumped for her unprotected back. She’d already turned by the time he’d reached her.

She caught a flash of wide grey eyes as he dodged, the knife just barely catching on the hem of his jacket. A warm hand clamped down on her left wrist, forcing the knife down as she swivelled.

 _Men are fucking hardwired to clamp down onto whatever they’re trying to control_. Ilia’s voice, somewhere deep in her memory, laughed. _Some asshole tries to grab your wrist? Let him. Now he can’t get away from **you**._

He snarled as she yanked him forwards, swinging with his left hand. She easily dodged the blind hit and delivered a crushing elbow strike to his face. The man let out a sharp yelp that abruptly cut off as Blake swept one leg out from underneath him.

The leg felt wrong, she realized. Like it wasn’t flesh.

Mercury toppled backwards, landing on his back with a sharp exhale. Winded, he started to learn forwards.

Blake was already on top of him, straddling his chest, the knife that he’d tried to force away now pressed under his chin. The gauze on her hand compressed, the cut beneath twinging, but she ignored it. She met the wide grey eyes with a vicious snarl of her own, pressing the flat of the blade against his throat.

His eyes travelled slightly, as though looking behind her. A ghost of a smirk returned to his lips.

Plastic cocked against metal, directly beside her ear. “Enough.”

Blake slowly, reluctantly, turned her head.

A handgun hung in the air, less than an inch behind her. Behind it, a pair of reddish eyes glared back at her, dark hair swept back under a faded green bandanna. “I need him alive.”

For a long second Blake toyed with the idea of slitting his throat anyways. But, with a reluctant huff, Blake stood, sidestepping and turning to face the woman behind her.

Emerald easily met her gaze, holstering her gun. “You have a short temper today.”

“Getting snuck up on one too many times will do that to you.” Blake grunted back, not breaking eye contact. _Just get them to leave. Swallow your pride and just make them leave._

“I can understand that.” Emerald posed like she was relaxed, resting her weight on one foot. “I’m going to assume he already asked you about Hightown.”

“Yeah. I’ll save you the conversation – they’re less than a day ahead of me, they’re very high-strung and flighty, and I need you two to go back and tell Cinder where we are so I can keep tracking them.”

A groan from behind her. “Xiao Long kicked her ass. You owe me a drink.”

Blake didn’t waste time to look back at Mercury as he struggled to his feet, and walked past them. He wasn’t the danger right now. Emerald’s gaze fell to her waist, looking at the holster. “How long have you had that back?”

“A day, but it’s empty. Found it in a gun shop with no ammo the night after I caught up with them.” She lied easily. “Xiao Long must have used the last bullet and found something better.”

Emerald’s eyes narrowed. “Bold move, leaving a weapon out for her opponent to take.”

Blake gritted her teeth _. Just fucking **leave**._ “Considering the rifle Rose managed to get her hands on? I’m not surprised.”

That seemed to get through to Emerald. The woman blinked, while Mercury turned to stare at her. “What rifle?”

“Rose has a massive military rife. No idea where she found it and I’ve never seen her fire it, but it looks heavy. I can’t see them going through the effort of carrying it around if it has no ammunition.”

Emerald didn’t speak for a long, long moment, examining Blake like she was under a magnifying glass. “Show me what bled.”

Her heart began to pound louder in her ears. “Wh-”

Emerald cut her off, voice rising as though she was losing patience. “There was blood all over the walls in that house. Show me what bled, if it was you.”

In the back of her mind, something grinned with validation. She’d known it would come in handy. Outwardly, she winced as she pulled up her sleeve, then offered the bandaged hand. “She pulled a knife when she realized who I was. Caught my hand instead of my neck, I managed to run before she did any serious damage.”

The red eyes flicked back and forth. “I was expecting worse.”

Blake sighed through her teeth, not bothering to hide her exasperation. “Why would I lie?!”

Emerald’s brow furrowed. Blake could see the gears turning in her brain, trying to process what she’d heard. Behind her, Mercury had leaned sideways to casually glance into the dumpster.

Blake stayed still, kept her eyes on Emerald, and prayed that Ruby was hidden well enough.

After what was either two seconds or five years later, Emerald sighed. “…very well. We can be back to the hospital tomorrow. For the love of God, stay on them. You got it?”

She hoped her relief just looked like exhaustion as she raised her hand in half-hearted salute. “Got it. They seem to be heading west, she might be able to cut them off if she comes around and cuts them off, but I can’t leave markers right now – I really don’t want them to spook again.”

Emerald gave a short nod, just succeeding in looking more annoyed as she passed. “Merc.”

Blake didn’t like the look that Mercury gave her as he passed. But he did pass, following Emerald out of the alleyway and leaving Blake standing in place.

She stayed still for a long, long moment, then hurried to the side of the alley, creeping towards the mouth and listening for voices. She knew better than to think that she was even slightly safe – if the car was nearby, they would probably do a couple laps around the block. She wasn’t going to get much of an opportunity to run without being detected.

No voices came – whatever thoughts they had, they were keeping it to themselves. But, after a minute, a car’s engine rumbled. Blake scrambled backwards. “Don’t move.” She hissed as she skidded behind the dumpster, then pressed herself to the ground.

All she could see of the car as it passed was the tires, but she thought she could feel Emerald’s stare sweeping over the alley one more time.

Blake stayed in place as the car passed, feeling her heart pound in her throat. With every moment that passed, the forced calm of having to focus on her movements faded, and panic surged in its place. She should have just told them. She had a job. She was going to have to explain herself later-

She clamped down on the swirling fears, and forced herself to wait another full minute before she stood. “They’re gone.”

Ruby popped up immediately, face pale, easily clambering out of the dumpster. She didn’t verbally tell her to run. Ruby didn’t say a word about wanting to. But both of them leapt into full speed the second Ruby’s feet touched the ground.

Her first thought, other than blinding panic at what had just occurred, was that Ruby was far faster than she’d expected. Railings, car hoods, benches, Ruby easily hopped, slid, and vaulted across them all. Blake kept pace, but it was shockingly difficult to keep up as they sprinted through the alleys between streets.

Blake, ironically, lost steam first. The gap between her and Ruby widened as her pace slowed. Finally, as they cleared a concrete barricade and sprinted into a towering parkade, Blake finally gave in. “Ruby.” She managed, barely able to yell.

Immediately, Ruby skidded to a halt. To Blake’s immense frustration, even with a massive rifle on her back, the woman was barely out of breath.

Blake leaned against the corpse of a car, then sat down completely on the ground, heaving for air and looking around. It wasn’t the worst place to catch their breath – a car could drive in, but Blake would hear it coming. It would do for the moment.

“Damn, you’re fast.” She looked up to find Ruby walking back towards her. “Not many people can keep up with me.”

The sight of the girl approaching brought a knot of anxiety to her gut, and it took Blake far too long to remember why. “You’re too close.” Even as she said it, Blake’s mind flashed back to the dumpster and her snap decision. She’d done it to save her, of course, but Yang wasn’t going to see it that way.

Ruby rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Relax, I’m not gonna tell Yang a thing. Just catch your breath for a sec.” She neatly sat down beside Blake, resting the rifle across her lap. Even Yang hadn’t been this relaxed and casual about being close to her, she realized.

“Why aren’t you scared of me?” She blurted out.

“You’ve passed up a lot of chances to be a threat.” Ruby shrugged, infuriatingly casual. “You’re either not planning on it, very conflicted about it, or playing a hell of a long game. All three of those options aren’t dangerous for me right now.”

“I could have been misleading them. You don’t know what my intentions are. You know what I did to W-“ she cut herself off, “Schnee’s family.”

“I wasn’t just talking about what happened now.” One of her eyebrows rose. “You know, humans aren’t totally blind in the dark - especially when they've been staring out an open window for about three hours. And even if we were, we’re not deaf.”

Blake blinked. Then, slowly she leaned forwards to put her face in her hands.

Beside her, she heard Ruby chuckle. “If any consolation – I don't think you're a naïve fool.”

“Don’t tell your sister.” She muttered through her hands. There wasn’t much else she could say.

“My lips are sealed.”

Silence slowly fell in the parkade. Ruby eventually stood to walk to the edge of the garage, watching for any sign of Weiss and Yang. Blake’s breathing slowed, but her thoughts didn’t. Cinder’s deal was growing more frail by the second – if Ruby really couldn’t be used to make a cure, Blake didn’t trust for a second that the human would keep her word. But there was no guarantee that what Ruby had told her was the truth. Ruby had decided she was trustworthy, apparently, and she seemed genuine enough, but Blake still couldn’t bring herself to return the feeling. Ruby could have easily lied and played on Blake’s own feelings to sell it. Or, it might not be a lie – maybe she just didn’t think it could be done. She hadn’t spoken to her enough, she didn’t know her cues well enough.

There was nothing to do but wait, and watch. Sooner or later, someone would slip up.

A loud birdcall shattered her thoughts, forcing her to look up.

Ruby waved from the edge of the concrete pillar, watching something that Blake couldn’t see. Barely a second later, Blake heard drumming footsteps.

She tiredly got to her feet, turning to watch – and stepped back, blinking in surprise as Weiss Schnee came flying around the corner, nearly tackling Ruby completely to the ground. “You complete and utter _dolt_ , what is wrong with you?!”

“Missed you too.” Ruby choked out.

Blake turned her head, almost on instinct, and found Yang in the open entryway, watching. She seemed frozen for a long, long second. Then, seemingly unaware of the fact Blake was watching, she turned away, both hands covering her face. Her sides heaved in what looked and sounded like a sob.

The Yang whirled back towards them and strode over to Ruby, grinning widely as though nothing had happened. “Good to see you, brat.”

Blake kept quiet, sitting on the edge of a concrete barricade as Ruby quickly summed up the events of the morning. Yang’s fist clenched over and over, as though repressing something new with every sentence. But, when Ruby reached the end of the story – one that was carefully devoid of her and Blake’s conversation, and Blake’s choice to leap into the dumpster with her – she spoke up. “Time for us to start heading north, then.”

Weiss glanced back. “We won’t be able to follow the interstate.”

“No, but there’s a secondary highway. At the very least, it’ll get us out of the city without the bitch cutting us off.” She rubbed her face again. “Start walking now, we’ll work on it as we go. We at least have a tiny bit of a head start.”

Blake began to back up, turning. That was probably her cue to scou-

“Blake. Hold up a sec.” She slowly turned back. Yang still hadn’t looked at her, instead waving at the other two. “You two, get going. We’ll catch up.”

Ruby glanced over her shoulder, but followed as Schnee more or less pulled her out into the dull sunlight. Faint conversation reached her ears, but Blake wasn’t paying attention to it.

Yang’s eyes were slow to find hers. When she did, Blake understood why. They were bloodshot, still slightly frantic, the dark circles below them far too pronounced. “…I saw Mercury and Emerald drive by.” Her surprise that Yang even knew what their names were was quickly forgotten as the woman drew in an unsteady breath. “I thought… I was sure they just hadn’t seen her yet, and when we couldn’t find you two right away…” Her face was starting to crack, spreading from the wrinkles that had formed in the corners of her eyes.

Blake wasn’t sure what would happen if the cracks spread. Her mouth opened before she could even begin to imagine it. “Emerald hates my guts, but she believed me. She cares more about pleasing Cinder, she’ll focus on delivering the message. It’s not ideal, but it went as well as it could have gone.”

“Yeah.” Yang still seemed unbalanced, uncertain, but the cracks stopped spreading. She inhaled, composing herself, and finally looked Blake in the eye. “Thank you. For having her back. I… I appreciate it.”

Oddly, Blake’s discomfort only grew as the cracks disappeared. Yang hadn’t healed, just pushed her panic down deeper. Something in her wanted to move closer, and order Yang to just let herself cry.

Instead, a piece of her own panic fell out of her mouth. “Is Ruby immune?”

Yang blinked, examining her with sudden alarm.

“Cinder told me when I made the deal.” She explained, feeling her mouth dry. Despite only knowing Yang for a day, somehow, her face was easier for Blake to read, her reactions easier to understand. Even if her voice didn’t tell the truth, her face would. “That’s why she’s trying to find her. Her arm’s already turned, Salem’s holding the rest of it back. She wants to be cured. She thinks Ruby’s the key.”

The lilac eyes darted back and forth, processing what Blake had said.

Her voice fell into a desperate whisper. “Is it possible?”

Silence tightened like a rubber band. Yang’s voice snapped it with a low, quiet tone. “Ruby’s been bitten three times. First time was before we knew what it was. Second time was an accident. Third time was on purpose, and it nearly killed her.” Her words were blunt, like she was trying not to recall the incidents, but her gaze seared into Blake’s. “She can’t become a Grimm. That’s it. It’s not immunity, it’s not a blessing, and it’s not useful to anyone, especially not her.”

Blake listened in silence, watching Yang’s face as much as she listened to her words. She saw exhaustion. She saw pain. But she didn’t see resolve to keep a secret, she didn’t see pleasure in lying, and she didn’t see uncertainty.

“Okay.” Her voice sounded far away. Distantly, through the entry into the parkade behind Yang, she caught a glimpse of Ruby and Schnee watching from around a corner.

Yang inhaled, straightened, and the calm mask slid over her face like a knight’s visor. “C’mon. We should move.” 

Blake followed with a nod, possibly even more tired than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"How can you tell this is a Spinedog fic, you may ask? Why, because literally every siNGLE CHARACTER DESPERATELY NEEDS THERAPY"_


	6. Good Night and Good Luck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so, long two weeks eh?
> 
> In all seriousness, I am so sorry for how long this chapter took to get to you guys!! Needless to say, I got a bit burned out after the Bumbleby Big Bang and hit a hell of a writer's block, but it still took way, way too long. I want to get back to a 'every two weeks' publishing schedule now, because taking this long away from writing really was not great for me in general. There were more things I was planning to do with this chapter, but ultimately I decided that I wanted to just get it published and done. There's a couple little things that I don't love, but, despite everything, I'm quite pleased with what I ended up with!! As always though - bounty of 'my general love and approval' for any typos or weird wording you guys find within this! The longer I work on something, the more I tend to miss.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it's somewhat worth the wait!! <3 <3 <3
> 
> [Spinedog on Tumblr](https://spinedog.tumblr.com/)  
> (going to start adding that link to the end of author's notes more often, because I do draw and do other things occasionally and it may as well be obvious where else you can find me)

The road stretched out behind her, empty and silent. The charred bones of a neighborhood threw shadows across the ground. Young plants swayed in the breeze. Behind her, footsteps made their way across cracked pavement.

Yang clumsily rubbed her left shoulder with metal fingers, waiting for any sign of the danger she knew was waiting. Deep down, she wasn’t even entirely sure why she was looking. There wasn’t much she could do if Mercury and Emerald came screeching around the corner anyways.

They had done nothing but move since finding Ruby and Blake in the parking garage, winding north and west through the city streets. The neighborhood they’d reached was easy to recognize – a wildfire had swept through a couple years ago, leaving little more than rubble and blackened wood in its path. No resources and little shelter, but few other survivors either. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t the worst place to go through to avoid detection.

She’d caught a few glimpses of Blake through the day, always a few blocks ahead but never quite on the same path. But there hadn’t been any sign of her or any other followers for a few hours.

“Who’s excited to sleep in a dirty pool for the night?” The tired whisper broke through Yang’s thoughts, forcing her to turn. Ruby was walking backwards, her eyes half closed with exhaustion, gesturing to the low, wide building behind her.

“Delighted.” Weiss grunted, following her across the absurdly large parking lot.

Yang looked back to the road one more time. Nothing but wind, ringing in her ears, and aching in her shoulder, back, and head greeted her. Turning back towards the building was still a struggle.

The worn-down rec center wasn’t a terrible choice of shelter for the night. The building had clearly seen better days, but the wide parking lot that surrounded it had spared it from the fire damage that had claimed the area, and it was low to the ground with few windows. A large white tank sat beside one of the walls, full of rainwater. Easy to barricade, secure, plenty of hiding places. It was also the largest intact building she’d seen all day, and an obvious source of water – which meant it may as well be a beacon for any other survivors.

“Hold up.” Yang swung her backpack onto her front as they reached the stairs. “Let’s use the sock trick, we don’t know if anything is in here.”

Weiss blinked in confusion but caught the balled up socks when Yang tossed them to her. “Sock trick?”

“Blake used it when she was following us in the market.” She underhand lobbed the next pair to Ruby, watching her easily catch them. “Muffles your footsteps and makes your footprints a little more subtle.”

“Ah.” Weiss’ brow pinched together, but she didn’t protest. Yang ignored her, stooping to pull her own on, stretching her arm down.

Pain flared along her shoulder, startling her. She stifled a wince, glancing up. Neither Ruby or Weiss seemed to have noticed, focused on pulling the socks over their own shoes. Yang bit her lip, sitting down as casually as she could on the step. It didn’t flare again, only faintly ache.

Yang carefully pulled the socks on and stood, shrugging it. Just sore, probably.

Having finished pulling the oversized socks over her boots, Ruby pulled the rifle off her shoulder and stepped through the shattered glass of the front door, Weiss following behind her. Yang pulled the gun off her hip, turning to walk backwards as they passed, watching for anything clever enough to wait for them to pass.

The front office had been trashed for some time. An empty snack machine rested on its side, the front desk broken and filing cabinets strewn around behind it. The metal door beside it hung ajar, saving it from being kicked in, and Ruby wasted little time in nudging it open.

Weiss’ flashlight clicked on as they passed the door, lighting a cold, white-brick lined staircase down to two doors. A mural decorated the far wall; it was probably intended to show children running and playing but looked far more like they were fleeing from some unseen danger.

Weiss glanced over her shoulder, eyebrows raised. Yang shrugged back.

Ruby ignored the creepy mural entirely, keeping her rifle leveled as she made her way down the stairs. The first door still had the remnants of plaque on it, reading ‘Men.” Ruby began to nudge it open, then frowned. She leaned her entire weight onto it, but the door didn’t move.

Yang’s shoulder ached in anticipation of being smashed into the solid wood. However, before she could move towards the door, Ruby backed away. “Leave it. We’ll go through the other way and double back to make sure there’s nothing there.” She placed a hand on the door beside them, a plaque reading ‘women’ flashing on the door as she nudged it open.

Weiss lifted the flashlight as they stepped through, lighting up the changing room. Most of the lockers had been broken open, but other than that the room seemed untouched. There was barely any dust or dirt on the ground, and Yang bit back a grin of validation as their socked shoes left no prints behind. A bathroom with three sinks and a line of stalls held no surprises as the flashlight swept over it. However, as they passed through the little hall with a line of showers, the floor gave Yang pause. Streaks of dried dirt ran from under one of the shower heads to the drain, as though it had been used since the world collapsed. No other signs of use greeted her eyes, but she kept her eyes on the room behind them, only turning around when Weiss made a low noise.

Sunlight streamed through a few windows near the ceiling, making the high-ceilinged room look more like a church than a pool. A single water slide rose to the roof, eerie in the dim light. Three large, empty pools indented the ground – a shallow kiddie pool that the water slide ended in, a large lane pool, and small, square pool at furthest end of the room, with a pair of roped-off diving boards alongside it. As Yang reached the edge of the lane pool, she caught sight of the remains of fire pits and tables that had been set up on its shallow end. The faint smell of decay lingered in the air, forcing her gut to twist with nerves.

Ruby looked over her shoulder at Yang and flicked her gun towards the men’s room. She nodded, following as Ruby led them towards the entrance. This had been a camp at some point. Just because there were no signs of life now didn’t mean that something sinister wasn’t waiting for them.

The men’s change room told a story the instant they walked in. Unlike the women’s room, there was a clear sign of a violent struggle. Sinks had been shattered, lockers dented in, and even a sturdy wooden bench had been broken. What initially looked like dirt splattered the ground, until Weiss’ flashlight reached it and the spots took on a crimson hue.

When they reached the door, it quickly became clear why they hadn’t been able to enter. A locker had, at some point, been ripped clean off the wall and wedged into the doorway, blocking the exit.

“The hell happened here?” Weiss finally muttered, sweeping the light across the destroyed room.

“Survivor groups having a turf war.” Yang muttered, her eyes catching on a particularly large stain, perfectly aligned with a massive dent in one of the lockers. “We saw shit like this a lot with Raven’s band.”

Weiss opened her mouth as though to reply, then closed it again, frowning.

They silently passed back through the locker room – this time, Yang paid attention to the floor. Every now and then she caught sight of something that might have been a footprint, but any real signs had long since faded.

As they returned to the brighter lit pool room, Ruby began to walk towards the waterslide, peering up at it. Weiss, on the other hand, nudged past. “I’m gonna check something, I’ll be right back.” She muttered to Yang, then headed towards the far end of the room.

Yang turned her eyes towards Ruby, who had stopped at the foot of the stairs. “We should sleep up there.” She turned towards her sister, keeping her voice low. “If something bad happens, there’s a window right beside it. We could jump through it and get outside.”

Yang winced as she looked at the rusty staircase. Even from the ground, she could see missing and broken stairs. “You want to go two for two on a rusty piece of shit collapsing under you?”

Ruby shot her a half smile. “I mean, it would be _really_ strange if a second house came barreling through and broke it this time.”

“Guys?” Both of their heads shot up, finding Weiss at the edge of the furthest pool, one hand on a diving board as though to keep her steady. “I figured out what smells.”

Yang wasn’t sure what she was expecting. But as she reached Weiss’ side and looked down, it wasn’t what she found.

With no water, the diving pool became a nauseatingly deep pit, lined with dirty tile. At first, she could barely make any sense of what she was seeing at the bottom past the heaps of dark dirt and bones. Then her eyes processed first human figure, and she immediately wished she hadn’t looked.

Five corpses rested directly below the diving board, sprawled and broken from their fall. Around them, littered around every edge of the pool, were the remains of countless Grimm that had tried to leap for a meal and met their final rest against the harsh tile.

A flashlight clicked on, sweeping over the gruesome scene. Yang flinched, turning to find Weiss scanning the pool, flashlight in hand. “If anything’s still alive down there, I’d rather know about it now.”

The thought was horrific, but it triggered another thought at the back of Yang's mind. She leaned a little further, grabbing the edge of the diving board as well, and looked over the bodies at the bottom. “This probably happened months ago, if not years." She still looked over each of the bodies. Making out any details at all was nearly impossible, between distance and decay, but the features she was looking for would be recognizable even at a distance. Yang wasn't sure if she was relived or disappointed as she straightened back up. “It would stink way, way more if it was recent.”

“Probably happened at the same time as the fight in the change room.” Ruby spoke up from Yang’s other side. Yang turned, fighting the urge to push her away, cover her eyes, tell her that it was just dirt; instead she found her sister looking at edge of the board. “I don’t think it was a turf war.” Her eyes followed Ruby’s gaze, and found spray-painted letters across the barricade that would have closed the board off to the public.

_Ours is a Vengeful and Fair Lady._

“Most of her people just call her ‘Ma’am’ or ‘Doctor’.” Her head turned, and she found a pair of silver eyes staring back at her. She hadn’t seen fear in them when she’d run onto the bridge. She hadn’t seen fear in them when they’d careened down a subway staircase to flee Cinder. It was subtle, it was nearly buried by exhaustion, but Yang could see fear in her sister's face as she inhaled. “Tyrian calls her ‘Our Lady’.”

Yang’s mouth dried. Her stomach turned even more violently.

Weiss on the other hand, was still focused on the bodies below. “Do you think they…” Her eyes flicked to the diving board, extending out over the pool like a pirate’s gangplank.

“I think we need to decide if we’re going to stay here or not.” She had half a mind to turn around and never return. But, ironically, the diving pool was more of a help than anything else – any Grimm that managed to get into the would be more attracted to it than to them.

Still, she was quietly disappointed when Ruby nodded. “Nowhere is gonna be safer. But I vote we sleep at the top of the slide.”

“Great." Yang stepped back from the pit. "Get up there, find a good spot while Weiss and I barricade the other door.”

Ruby nodded, hefting her backpack over her shoulder as they walked back to the stairs. She had to step over several missing steps, but the metal easily held as she made her way up. Yang still waited until Ruby waved down at her. With a low exhale, Yang turned and headed towards the women’s change room, Weiss following close behind.

Once they reached the actual door, however, Yang realized that there was little to barricade with. Unlike the men’s room, all the lockers were still attached to the wall, and there was little debris littering the floor. She huffed through her nose, grabbing the edge of a door that was swinging open, experimentally tugging on it. Pain flared in her shoulder, drawing a hiss.

The flashlight beam swung towards her. “Yang?”

“It’s fine, just frustrated.” She grunted, stopping herself from rolling her shoulder. “I think we could pry a couple of the locker doors off. Maybe we could wedge them across the door.”

“With a hammer, a screwdriver, and half an hour? No.” Weiss flatly replied. “Seriously, shouldn’t there be a chair? Or a stool? Or anything?”

“Probably, but I bet they got dragged off a long time ago.” Yang rubbed her face. Even with her eyes closed, she could see Weiss’s flashlight moving around the room. “Bet there’s one in the office, we could just carry it down.”

“Hold on.” Yang opened her eyes in time to see Weiss duck around the corner into the bathroom. A pause, then low squeaking and a satisfied hum.

Yang tilted her head as Weiss reappeared, holding something in one hand. “What are you doing?”

“I saw this in an old movie once.” Weiss stopped just in front of the door, took a step back, then threw the lightbulb in her hand at the ground. Glass shattered, then crunched as she on what was left of the bulb.

“…Weiss, I get it, but in real life people wear shoes.”

“ _Mission: Impossible_ , idiot, not _Die Hard_.” Weiss spread the glass across the floor with her socked boot, frowning. “It’s not ideal, but it’ll be hard for someone to see when they walk in. If something gets in, we’ll hear it coming. Besides,” she turned back to Yang, “I’d rather have two exits to escape through than just one.”

She didn’t have a better idea, she was fighting the pain in her shoulder, and Weiss had a point. Yang tiredly nodded, and turned to find a light bulb of her own.

In the end, it really wasn’t as much glass as they needed, but it would do. With the hard walls and floors, the sound of crunching echoed enough to be deafening inside the room – it would be enough to hear from the top of the slide. Still, Yang wished they could have properly barricaded it as they started to walk away. The stinging in her shoulder didn’t fade as they crossed into the silent room, and a bubble of anxiety grew in her gut. Had she – no. No, no she couldn’t have pulled a muscle. She hadn’t done enough.

The stairs to the slide, at least, were an obstacle all on their own. Several of the bottom steps had been removed at some point, and one stair halfway up was broken at one end, threatening a quick drop to the tile below. Not much of an obstacle for two fully aware women with a decent amount of light from the windows around them and the single skylight above. But in the middle of the night, for mindless Grimm, it would be a difficult climb.

The top of the slide was, surprisingly, a mess of brightly coloured pool supplies. Why anyone had thought that dragging all of the various mats, flutterboards, and pool noodles to the top of the slide was beyond her, but they’d been put to good use. Three wide pool mats had been dragged out to serve as a barrier against the harsh flooring, and a stack of flutterboards had been shoved up against the small window to block any sight of the girls inside.

Ruby was already curled into the folded blanket that served as her sleeping bag. But, as they reached the top, she blearily sat up. “All good?”

“No luck barricading. We set a glass trap so we’ll hear noise if someone enters.” Weiss slung her backpack off, resting it beside Ruby’s.

“I figured you could use the pool noodles to block off the stairs if you wanted. But that’s probably for the best.” Ruby yawned, laying back down. “Blake might end up needing shelter overnight, and I don’t want to try to get down the stairs in the dark to let her in.”

Weiss stopped dead, glancing over her shoulder at Yang.

“She’s probably asleep already anyways.” Yang stared at her sister’s back as she rolled. “And she’s not supposed to be anywhere near you or Weiss.”

“’S an emergency.” Ruby mumbled, pulling the blanket over her shoulder. “Doesn’t count.”

Yang glanced back at Weiss, finding an equally troubled look in her pinched eyebrows. But Weiss didn’t press the matter, only grumbling at the pile of blankets that had already stilled. “Go to sleep, dork.”

Yang carefully placed her bag beside the slide, gingerly placing it on the edge of one of the mats and unpacking the sleeping bag that was tied down to the top. The aching shoulder was floating far away from her thoughts now – now she was thinking about the amount of time both Ruby and Blake were unaccounted for, and how unconcerned Ruby seemed with her.

“So, barricading with the iron-clad pool noodles?" Weiss whispered beside her, nodding towards the stairs and interrupting her thoughts.

“I wish I had a better idea.” She muttered back, maneuvering her metal hand around one of the long pool toys.

They stayed quiet for a long, long while, Yang carrying the pool noodles down while Weiss carefully stacked them on top of the stairs, threading the ends through the railings. The brightly coloured, less than subtle barricade was placed directly in front of the deadly half-attached stair – hopefully making it a deadly obstacle for anything that didn’t think to look down.

Once there was physically no more room to fit any of the pool noodles through the bars, Yang walked back up one last time, glanced over Ruby’s sleeping form, and dug out two small bags of dried fruit and nuts for her and Weiss. She wordlessly sat down beside the smaller woman, offered her one, and smiled at the low mutter from beside her.

Her thoughts began to wander as the light seeping in from the windows slowly dimmed. _Blake might need shelter._ There weren’t a lot of places to hide nearby. Blake could get away with sleeping in a car or a shed, she would be fine. There was still too much she didn’t know about the window.

But something uncomfortably pulled on her gut when Yang pictured her trying to get through a barricaded door, alone in the dark.

The light had faded into a deep red by the time Weiss spoke. “I think she’s hiding something.”

“She’s probably hiding a million things.” Yang kept her voice low as she shifted her weight to lean against the unforgiving metal stairs. “I’m more concerned about whether those things will get us killed or not.”

“I’m talking about Ruby.” Yang glanced sideways, finding Weiss’ eyes on her. “Don’t you think that coming that close to those two should have shaken her up a bit more?”

She wasn’t wrong. Ruby had been… well. Almost cheerful. But that wasn’t entirely out of the question for her sister. “I think you’re forgetting that the woman got separated from us because she decided luring three Grimm onto a collapsing bridge was a good idea.” Keeping her voice to a whisper and not a growl was more difficult than she wanted to admit. Maybe Ruby hadn’t been shaken by the whole ordeal, but Yang certainly had.

“Dolt.” Weiss shifted, crossing one leg over the other. “Ruby taking it well was one thing. But… Belladonna.” Her voice lowered.

“I know.” Yang let her breath out slowly through her nose. Even in the state of near terror Yang had been in, even with her nearly losing her composure, she couldn’t have missed that detail. Blake’s face flashed in front of her again, eyes wide, voice dropping into near desperation as she revealed what Cinder had told her. “Hell of a coincidence that she asked about it right then.”

A low, terse sigh. “You don’t believe in those any more than I do.”

She tilted her head, watching the shorter woman with interest. “You think Ruby lied about what happened.” It wasn’t a question so much as an invitation.

“Lied is a strong word. But… yeah. I think something else must have happened while they were together.” Weiss rubbed at her face, exhaustion clinging to her movements. “Not necessarily something bad. As much as I’d like to have any excuse to shake Belladonna off, I trust Ruby to tell us if she did something sketchy. But… I dunno. It’s almost like Ruby felt better about our chances when we caught back up. Add that to Belladonna asking you if Cinder told her the truth, and the fact she looked like she’d seen a ghost even before you answered…” She raised her eyebrows, the scar across one eye stretching a little further.

Yang hadn’t had time to think about it then, or in the hours afterwards, focused on getting them as far away from the flooded river as humanly possible. But now, at the top of a broken staircase with a flimsy barricade and improvised alarm system, it was slightly easier to think. “Ruby must have probed about Cinder and got an answer out of her. Or maybe Blake asked.”

“Yes. I just don’t understand why she wouldn’t have just told us about it. If anything, Belladonna knowing that Cinder’s chasing her tail works in our favor. It doesn’t even make sense that she asked you about it.”

“No, that part makes sense.” She rested her head against the railing, exhaling. “She wanted to see my reaction.”

Weiss’ head slowly turned to look at her. “…she’s getting pretty close, Yang.”

“I know.” Yang couldn’t truly drum the fingers on her metal hand, but flexing her bicep in just the way would make the fingers twitch against whatever surface they were on. It’d long since become habit to tap them as she thought. “But this morning was her chance to throw us under the bus. And what does she have to gain from letting us go? Really?” Yang lifted her good hand, swallowing the wince as her muscles complained. “Sure, we might be inclined to trust her more, but why bother letting us trust her if she could have gotten Ruby in one fell swoop?”

Weiss didn’t reply at first, and that alone was unusual enough for Yang to turn to face her. The girl was looking up at the windows, eyes moving very slightly. When she did speak, it was in a quiet tone that Yang wasn’t even sure she was supposed to hear. “We heard Cinder shield her from him. But she had ten days between then and when she caught up to us. He could have caught up to her and gotten her back onto his side, if she ever wasn’t on it.” The scar across Weiss’ eye stretched slightly as her eyebrows raised. With the skin pulled taught, the tiny breaks between scar tissue mapped out exactly where the skin had been folded when the wound happened. “Maybe it’s me she’s waiting to find alone, not Ruby.”

It could easily be true. She’d passed up the chance to give up Ruby, but there was no proof to suggest that she would do the same for Weiss - and it wasn’t a question that Yang wanted to test. A sinking feeling settled into her gut as she looked back at the tile floor below, turning over her thoughts in her mind.

To Yang’s surprise, Weiss’ voice broke through her thoughts. “I’m sorry. You need more people to trust, not less. I just –“

“No, no, it’s okay. You’re right, we need to figure this out.” Yang rubbed her face, watching the dimming sunlight fade from the dusty air. Her mind wandered back to the dusty space of the ammunition shop, and the wariness in the other woman’s words and body.

But she hadn’t told Weiss or Ruby all of that story yet, and she didn’t particularly want to. Not tonight. “Sun’s down now, and you should probably sleep anyways. I’ll think on it for a bit, you think on it when you get up. We’ll figure something out tomorrow.”

Weiss hesitated. But she could see the reactions in her fading eyes, see that she was getting tired. She shifted her weight, placing the flashlight next to Yang. “Wake me if you need more sleep, okay?”

“I will.” The words were lies, but the tired smile that pulled at Yang’s face was real. “See you in the morning.”

Weiss still eyed her as she stood and began to walk up the stairs. But, after a while, the sound of movement behind her stopped, and the night grew still.

The sun slowly faded, leaving silence in its wake. Yang leaned against the rail, staring off into the dark. There was a sort of peace to knowing that no one was watching, that she could just settle and think. But, that came with the price of being able to hear her own thoughts.

As with every night, Yang filed it away and pulled her map out, laying it out on her knee and carefully looking over their route. For the first two hours, it worked well. She more or less had a plan for the coming days.

After that, nameless tension began to swirl in her mind. She put the map away, digging out one of the snack bags that they’d scavenged. She crunched on the stale nut mix.

Without her permission, her mind crawled back towards the events of the morning.

 _She’s fine._ Yang bit through a cashew with more force than necessary. _They’re both asleep behind me. Everything’s fine._

The memory of panicked breathing, watching an old car zoom over the bridge she and Weiss had crossed, recognizing the green bandana on the woman behind the steering wheel. Searching in the hope that Ruby had escaped, while the image of her being taken further and further away danced behind her eyes.

 _Don’t need to think about that._ Her heart was starting to speed up. Her fingers felt cold. Yang swallowed the food, forcing in a shaky inhale. _She’s fine._

For a second, she felt her body stabilize, teetering on the edge of a cliff. Then a simple, innocent question passed by her mind. _What if she was gone?_

Breathing abruptly spiraled into panting. Yang’s forehead careened to her knees, fingers sinking into her hair. _Ruby’s fine._ She silently chanted. _She’s behind me. We’re okay. We made it out. We’re safe._

But that was a lie, just like everything else. Reality ripped through her weak attempts to calm herself down. Outside, the world was dead and rotting. Every person that she’d ever loved had either been ripped from her, stabbed her in the back, or left her behind - except for one.

Her pulse pounded in her ears. Even if they made it to the Schnee bunker, what would they do? Hide underground until Cinder finally lost her battle with the Grimm in her arm? Until Salem forgot they existed? Until there was no one left to recognize them?

Yang’s gaze found the diving pool, void visible even in the dark. The stench of death was faint but clear; there was no hole deep enough to hide from Salem’s cruelty forever.

Panic faded into an empty exhaustion. A breath slowly rattled its way into her chest, bringing oxygen but no answers. Her eyes stung. She wiped at them, and realized too late that there were tears running down her face. She dug out another handful of nuts with a shaking hand. She had Weiss too, she reminded herself as she crunched. The pale girl had lost her entire family, and she’d done okay. She’d found a new family, she’d found hope.

But, pieced together from the fragments of hundreds of conversations, Yang knew that Weiss had always been alone. She did grieve for her parents and siblings; but in the quiet, wounded way that suggested she’d been mourning their loss for longer than they’d been dead.

Weiss was a new and welcome addition to her life, and she would fight to protect her. But she could remember life before the sassy girl had entered it. The only memories that Yang had from before Ruby Rose were distant impressions of voices and carpet.

Yang carefully stowed away the bag and rested her chin on her knees. She closed her eyes, and inhaled, feeling her soul and body ache. She had enough left to keep going for another day. Past that, she wasn’t sure.

Moonlight slowly spilled through the windows in front of her, casting long shadows across the ground. Yang simply sat and watched for a while, long enough to watch the strips of light migrate from one side of the kiddie pool to the next.

Eventually, she found her watch, barely visible in the light. One thirty. Usually Ruby was awake by then. Yang frowned, shifting her weight to rise to her feet. The muscles in her shoulder felt like they were pulled into a bunch, screeching with pain as she used them to pull herself up. Yang shook her head, forcing herself to inhale. Maybe she should dig out one of the muscle relaxants. She pushed it out of her mind as she slowly climbed the stairs, blinking as she reached the top step to adjust to the slightly darker platform.

Weiss was curled in her own blanket, shoved up almost completely against Ruby’s back. Both were breathing slowly, bodies otherwise still. Still in deep sleep, nowhere near waking up.

She chewed her lip, then turned back to the stairs. _She went to sleep late. Probably a little too early to wake her up._

Yang blinked away the heaviness in her eyelids as she settled back down on her step. She’d wait till two, then-

Movement.

Yang jerked upright, suddenly wide awake, searching for whatever had startled her.

No sound greeted her ears. Nothing inside the room.

This time, she saw the movement – a shadow blocking the moonlight on the floor.

Yang’s eyes slowly tracked upwards to the windows on the wall across from her, the faint shapes of trees and an overgrown sidewalk visible through it.

Her breath stopped entirely as an unnaturally long, thin pair of legs passed the floor-level window. Its steps were awkward, slow, purposeless. Then, as casual as if they on a stroll through the park together, as second shadow followed it. Then a third.

The only movement Yang could feel was her own heart pounding in her throat as the horde of Apathy slowly crossed from one window to the next. They weren’t hunting. She would be able to hear the wailing if they were. She still had to force herself to inhale, counting shadows as they passed. Six. Seven. Eight.

Yang forced herself to take another breath. Apathy only really became dangerous if they sensed prey nearby and started screaming. As long as they were just searching, they would just make her feel tired and probably make it harder for Ruby and Weiss to wake up. No painkillers tonight. She could dig out the coffee grounds if they got rowdy and started making more noise. Weiss and Ruby were safe in their sleep. They would be fine as long as nothing got inside.

At that exact moment, like something out of a nightmare, Yang heard glass crunch.

Her entire body stilled. A hand fell to her gun – less for preparation, more for prayer.

Silence. Another crunch.

The gun slowly lifted, pointed towards the doorway that led to the women’s showers.

When the figure emerged, Yang could only make it out as patch of slightly darker shadow. She stared as the intruder stumbled past the moonlight, turning to stare up at the windows.

Her ears were pinned flat against her head, but the shoulder length hair, the black jacket, and the ragged backpack gave her away immediately.

Yang’s breath shuddered out as she watched Blake stop, head moving to track an Apathy as it shambled past. Her movements were sluggish and unsteady, but even from a distance, Yang hear her shakily heaving for breath.

Yang realized she was about to call to her a second before her voice rose. She closed her mouth, frowning. Company was the last thing she wanted, and Blake was even more unknown than ever. More stress was only going to make matters worse.

Blake finally looked down again, looking around as though searching for a place to hide, fear written in the tense lines in her body.

Something uncomfortable swirled in her chest. Maybe she was as tired of seeing fear as she was of feeling it. Yang reached out and pressed on the loose railing beside her, letting it squeak.

The girl’s head jerked up just as she jumped into the shadows, leaving only a pair of shining greenish dots.

 _…well, that’s fucking terrifying._ Yang raised her hand in an awkward sort of wave, staring back at the unsettling pupils, glowing with reflecting moonlight.

They disappeared, then returned in what was probably a blink of confusion. Then the shadowy figure slowly headed towards her, continuing to move as quietly as she could. The strange, sluggish movement only got more obvious as Blake reached the staircase. She grabbed the railing, as though steadying herself, then carefully pulled herself up each step, nimbly avoiding the gaps.

Yang gritted her teeth, forcing herself to inhale and at least pretend to relax as Blake made her way up the stairs, blending in with the low light. Once she was within earshot – human earshot, at least – she hissed, “What are you doing here? You scared the shit out of me.”

“Was about to ask you the same thing.” Blake whispered back, stopping to eye the unstable stair at the foot of the makeshift barricade. “Wasn’t even looking for you, just trying to find shelter.”

“Shouldn’t you have slept already?”

“I did. Woke up early, probably saved me.” Blake’s gaze flicked back to the windows. Yang caught a glimpse of wadded fabric shoved into her ears, still pressed flat to her head. “Almost didn’t get away in time.”

It didn’t take long for her to put the pieces together. “Guessing the Apathy hit you harder.”

Blake blinked, turning back to her. “…Apathy?”

Right. That wasn’t the common term. “I’ll explain later, just-“ Her eyes flicked down to the barricade.

She should just keep her on the other side. There was so much unknown about her, so much risk, so much danger.

Blake moved to sit down. Now that she was barely six feet away, it was easy to see her hands shaking, contrasting with her unsteady, slow movement.

A low, frustrated snarl rolled from her chest, making Blake jump and look up. Yang had already grabbed the edge of the railing, ignoring the aching shoulder, and stretched out the metal arm. “Step on one of the railings and then grab me. If you step on that stair, you’ll fall straight through.”

A startled blink, then Blake slowly moved towards her. For a moment, Yang thought her help might not be needed. Blake grabbed the edge of the railing and carefully climbed over it, climbing sideways to pass the barricade. In the back of her mind, Yang crankily seethed. _Why did we even bother trying to barricade at all if she was just going to be able to-_

Her hand slipped.

She wasn’t in any danger of falling. She just slipped. But that didn’t stop Yang’s arm from lunging for her arm.

Pain exploded from her shoulder, sparking down her arm, and Yang’s vision flashed white.

Distantly, she heard metal creak as Blake scrambled over the railing and onto the stairs with her. She barely managed to let go, panting for breath, feeling her fingers shake as she flopped against the rail.

Then, a long second too late, Yang realized Blake was staring at her. The golden eyes settled on her shoulder, then flicked back her, narrowing slightly.

Apathy groaned somewhere outside, but they weren’t the real danger anymore. The real danger lurked in the golden eyes that were looking at her too closely. She knew that Yang was tired, Yang was in pain, Yang was barely holding herself together. She was simmering with an unholy cocktail of determination and fear, she had a loaded gun, and she had nothing to lose. But Blake had a weapon of her own, and she was calm and collected.

Knowledge of her own sunk into her gut. If Blake decided to attack, Yang was not going to come out on top.

So she glared back at her, and spat with a venom that burned her tongue. “You can stay here for now. But once they pass, get moving. We’re gonna need to start covering ground as soon as the sun comes back up.” Her voice shook, betraying her.

The dark ears flattened. Blake’s eyebrows lowered slightly, and for a long moment Yang waited for her to turn on her heel . Instead, she exhaled through her nose. “How long has your shoulder been hurting?”

Panic slammed through her veins, poorly disguised with fury. Deep down, she wanted to admire Blake’s tenacity – but she was too close, seeing too much, nothing more than a threat that she had to chase away.

A thought unfurled in the back of her mind, like a deadly bloom. She’d hit Blake hard enough to knock her out before. There was no way she had enough strength to do it again, but she didn’t have to. Blake just had to think she could.

Yang stared dead into the golden irises, and let a violent threat seep into her rough voice and a slight lift of her right arm. “Think they’re far enough away, actually.”

Her pupils constricted. Her ears rotated sideways, as though bracing for physical impact. But Blake Belladonna did not move.

Silence dropped between them. One of the black ears slowly rotated towards her. At the same time, a faint, metallic rattling reached Yang’s ears.

It took a long second for Yang to realize that she was shaking so badly that it was rattling a loose connection inside the arm. Then another to realize that the room had blurred.

Yang had always known that if the first brick fell, the whole wall would collapse. But she hadn’t anticipated it all coming apart so quickly.

Her arm fell to her side. Her left hand automatically flew up, trying to shield the stinging that she could feel in her eyes, swallowing as her gut rolled. _She’s going to kill you, then Weiss, then-_

“Yang-“

The voice was a bullet colliding with her chest. Yang violently shook her head. She opened her mouth to come up with an excuse. At first, absolutely nothing came. Then, finally, a sentence that was supposed to be calm, but instead came out as tiny and broken. “Did they wake up?”

Her jacket rustled, as though turning to look up the stairs. A long, long pause. “…No. They’re both out.”

She nodded, still hidden behind her own palm. There wasn’t much else she could do.

Blake didn’t speak for a long moment. “Do they know what’s going on with you?”

A short, exhausted laugh that was more of a sob broke from her throat, and her hand finally dropped. Why hide it now? She’d already seen too much, she already knew that Yang couldn’t hurt her. Dull exhaustion seeped into her voice. “No.”

She wasn’t sure what she was expecting to happen. Maybe a snort of disgust, then the sound of the woman walking away. Or a victorious snicker, then a violent shove to the waiting tile below.

Instead, silence stretched between them. She heard the faint rustle of Blake’s jacket as she shifted her weight. She dared to glance sideways, and found the girl was looking at the now vacant windows.

Bone weariness gnawed at her core, forcing herself to speak in order to keep her eyes open. “Can you hear the horde still?”

Blake’s ears slowly eased back up, the shredded fabric now plainly visible. “Yes, but it’s getting fainter.”

“Good.” Yang’s head fell back to her palm, rubbing her head.

This time, the silence was shorter. A stair creaked.

She lifted her head, just in time to see Blake sit down on the stair directly beside her. She looked far more awake than Yang felt, her expression still tense and guarded. But her eyes looked… different. Soft. She slowly leaned forwards, resting her elbows on her knees, watching Yang instead of staring at her.

The cynical, scared voice screamed that Blake was playing her like fiddle, worming in nice and close so it’d be an even cleaner kill. But Yang was too tired, too painful, and too weak to listen anymore.

She’d heard that admitting to a hidden truth was supposed to be liberating. That must have been a lie in itself, because her heart only pounded harder as she forced words past her lips. “Started hurting this morning.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. She paused to inhale, clear her throat, and force a few more words out. “Pissed it off when I tried to barricade the place. Probably have a muscle knot on the good side somewhere. Or I pulled something. Dunno which.”

The golden eyes stayed on her. “Taken anything for it?”

“No. Saving the pills for emergencies.” Yang drew in another breath, this one slightly easier.

Blake’s expression cracked into a confused squint. “What do you consider an emergency?”

“If I can’t function, it’s an emergency.” Yang gritted her teeth. “Anything short of that, I can get by.”

A pair of dark eyebrows lifted. “Is this functional?”

“Whatever.” Yang’s gaze crashed to the ground, unable to summon the strength to lift her head anymore. “I’m not taking anything with a horde outside.”

“Okay.” Beside her, she heard Blake slowly inhale through her nose. “Sit in front of me, then.”

Yang blinked, lifting her head to stare.

Blake held her gaze, mouth pressed into a thin line. “If it really is a muscle knot, I might be able to work it out. If it’s not, then you need to take something.”

She opened her mouth, a blunt refusal on the tip of her tongue.

Blake’s ears swiveled sideways and down as her eyebrows lowered. There was a reality check in her narrowed gaze that Yang wasn’t stubborn enough to miss. She did need help – tomorrow would be even worse if she refused. But that didn’t mean she shouldn’t try.

Yang drew breath, bit her lip, and asked. ““What happened between you and Ruby this morning?”

Blake’s reaction was really the only answer that she needed. A quick blink, her eyes widened slightly, then tracked down. Alarmed, but not surprised. Something had happened, something she didn’t want to talk about. Yang waited for her to deny it, or ask what Ruby had said.

Instead, Blake’s eyes closed, and she sighed. “She asked me why I left the White Fang. I asked her why she was running from Salem.”

So she had asked. A low hiss left Yang’s throat – not anger, but… pain, perhaps, was the right word. Ruby had gone through enough.

But Blake was already shaking her head, eyes still closed. “She didn’t tell me everything, but I got the picture. I just asked you to confirm.”

Probably the truth, though she could always just double-check with Ruby the next day. She wouldn’t have a reason to hide it if Blake had given it up first. But there was another question that was just as important. “What did you tell her?” Yang’s voice rose on its own, her eyes focused on the woman beside her.

Blake’s brows lowered, eyes slowly cracking open. “I told her all three of us were exiled.”

Not exactly new information. There was a weariness to Blake that suggested there was more to the story, but between the aches in her body and the exhaustion nipping at her mind, tonight wasn’t the night to try and interrogate her.

With a low, reluctant sigh, Yang rolled her weight onto her feet, sidestepped, and sat down on the stair below them.

Blake moved behind her, quietly and slowly, sitting off to the side rather than directly behind Yang. Still, she had to fight to keep from flinching when a warm, gentle hand rested on her shoulder. But physical discomfort was no match for the pain that started as Blake’s hands began to actually press into the sore muscles. “If it’s supposed to hurt like _fuck_ , then it’s working.” She hissed, fighting to keep herself still.

“Considering your entire shoulder feels like one big knot, I’d be shocked if it didn’t.” Blake grunted behind her. “Try to relax, I can’t feel where the actual problem is.”

Yang gave a hollow chuckle. “Pretty sure I haven’t relaxed in-“

Blake’s touch moved – her palm flattened, warmth spread against her skin, and her fingers kneaded her skin. Pain sparked with every movement, but Yang barely noticed it now. All of her attention was on the warm pressure against her skin, and the odd, light feeling creeping up her spine.

“…years.” She managed to finish her sentence.

“No, really?” Blake dryly replied. The hand on her back gently pushed. “Lean forwards a bit.”

Yang obeyed before she could think about it. Her memory trailed backwards, to different hands, different touches, and a sly, mismatched gaze.

Blake’s hand paused on her shoulder. “You okay?”

She blinked, shaking her head slightly, shoving the thought back down. “Yeah. Sorry, just… thinking.”

Her hand started moving again, but this time Blake didn’t ask. Her leg pressed into Yang’s side as she moved, pressing against tight, painful muscles, trying to figure them out rather than unwind them. Every now and then, one of her fingers would brush against the harness that looped around both shoulders, she would hesitate, but then continue around it rather than trying to feel what was underneath. Yang didn't protest, forgetting to listen for any warning of an attack as the fingers pressed against her skin. Distantly, Yang remembered her conversation with Weiss. All the uncertainty and distrust seemed far away now – but not gone entirely.

“What will you do if you get away from Salem?” Yang's voice was quiet, unusually genuine in the still air.

Blake’s touch hesitated. When Yang dared glance backwards, she caught a glimpse of the girl looking off to one side, brows lowered slightly, before their gaze met. “I’m not sure. There were a couple options, but… not really sure about any of them anymore.” Her voice fell to a low mumble.

Her earlier panic pricked at the back of Yang’s mind, but it seemed far away as well. Yang gave a small, amused exhale through her nose. “Know the feeling.”

Her hand flattened entirely against Yang’s back. “What will you do?”

Yang thought of the pit, of the people that were at the bottom, and the ones that weren’t. She thought of deer that could outrun a lone wolf, but not an entire pack.

“Sleep.” Her voice sounded hollow. "Just sleep."

Blake’s expression softened, and Yang realized it was the first time she’d seen the woman’s face truly unwind and lose the tense, guarded look that lingered behind every expression.

Her free hand reached up to pull the fabric from one ear, then the other, stuffing them into her pocket. Finally, they both rotated upwards, scanning the air around them. She drew a breath, and the guarded look fell back over her features. “I don’t hear the horde anymore. And I think you were supposed to sleep an hour ago.”

“Only half an hour.” Yang didn’t protest when Blake’s hand lifted from her back – at least, not outwardly. A warm patch lingered where her hand had been.

“Still. You got up pretty early.” Blake slowly stood, her eyes staying on her. “There’s a few things I want to find before we start moving again. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

“Talk to you in the morning.” Yang echoed, watching as the slender woman carefully navigated her way back over the barricade, and down onto the secure step. Her eyes flickered up one more time, meeting Yang’s for a heartbeat too long. Then Blake turned, making her way back down the steps, fading back into the shadows.

Yang sat and stared into the dark long after she lost track of Blake’s silhouette. She could feel anxiety and paranoia swirling, but it all seemed distant and illogical. Her shoulder still hurt, the dark still pressed in, nothing had changed and yet everything had.

Both had masks they hid behind, and both had slipped tonight. Yang had fumbled and dropped her entirely, and then frantically tried and failed to pull it back on. Blake had just let hers fall for a moment.

The softening expression replayed in front of her eyes; thoughts still unreadable, but a sort of understanding seeping into her brow and eyes.

Amid all the swirling questions and unknowns in her mind, one fact stayed stable; Blake’s intentions, whatever they were, weren’t cruel.

A low groan behind her shattered Yang’s thoughts, and she found herself still sitting on the staircase, shoulder aching, the night quiet around her.

By the time she got to her feet and managed to climb up to the top, Ruby was sitting up, rubbing her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Two. Apathy went by, waited ‘till they were gone.” Yang kept her face turned away, worried her eyes might still be red or damp, and slumped into her bedroll.

Ruby said something else, but Yang could barely make it out. But still, she fought off sleep until Ruby was making her way down the stairs before she slowly slipped out of her shirt, then the prosthetic. Every movement of her arm still hurt just as much as before, but her thoughts slid around the pain, too focused on the memory of warmth.

Yang still kept the arm beside her, under the crumpled jacket that served as her pillow. She should have been more nervous, have thought about the encounter more. But sleep was dragging her down deeper, keeping her from focusing on anything – or at least, on anything else.

As her thoughts began to drift, all she could see were golden eyes, focused on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: for anyone that feels bad for poor Yang - know that my left shoulder, specifically, started acting up about an hour after I posted this and it has only gotten worse, so apparently she’s taking revenge. You can’t make this stuff up.


End file.
